What Shall We Do Now? 



WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW? 



A Book of Suggestions for 
Children's Games and Employments 



BY 

EDWARD VERRALL LUCAS 

AND 

ELIZABETH LUCAS 



NEW YORK 

FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY 

J904 






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of 



PREFACE 

This book has been made in the hope that the question which 
forms its title, " What shall we do now ? " may come to be put 
less frequently. It is so easy for children to ask it, so hard for 
grown-up persons with many other matters to think about to reply 
to it satisfactorily. 

In the following pages, which have something to say concerning 
most of the situations in which children find themselves, at home 
or in the country, out of doors or in, alone or in company, a variety 
of answers will be found. No subject can be said to be exhausted ; 
but the book is perhaps large enough. Everything which it contains 
has been indexed so clearly that a reader ought to be able to find 
what he wants in a moment. Moreover, by way both of supplying 
any deficiencies and of giving each copy of the book a personal 
character, an appendix of blank and numbered leaves {with a few 
spaces in the index) has been added, in which the owner may record 
such omitted games and employments as he has found good. 

There are, of course, many fortunate girls and boys who do not 
require any help whatever, who always know . what to do now, and 
do it. For them some sections of this book may have little value. 



vi What Shall We Do Now? 

It is for that greater number of less resourceful children who 
whenever time is before them really are in need of counsel and 
hints, that it has been prepared. 

It would be impossible to attain anything approaching to 
completeness in a book of this kind without calling upon the 
experience of many persons who remember their childhood. We 
arc grateful to a large number of friends for the assistance of 
reminiscence. For more particular assistance we wish to thank 
Miss M. C. G. Jackson, Miss M. A. Reid, and Miss Edith 
Harington. Most of the drawings are the work of Mr. George 
Morrow. 

E.V. L. 

E.L. 

July 1900. 



CONTENTS 



Games for a Party 

Drawing Games 

Writing Games 

Table and Card Games 

Thinking, Guessing, and Acting Games 

Garden Games for Girls 

Garden Games for Boys . 

Picnic Games 

Out for a Walk . 

In the Train 

Playing Alone, and Games in Bed 

At the Seaside 

In the Country 

Dolls' Houses 

Dolls' Houses and Dolls of Cardboard and 

Indoor Occupations and Things to Make 

Cooking 

Gardening 

Pets 

Sunday 

Reading 

Index 

Appendix 



Paper 



i 

37 

49 

63 

73 

95 

105 

113 

121 

131 
141 

151 
157 
175 
191 
219 
251 
259 
293 
323 
329 

353 

367 



GAMES FOR A PARTY 



GAMES FOR A PARTY 



"Blind Man's Buff" is one of the best, oldest, and simplest of Blind man's 

games. One player is blindfolded, is turned round two or three bu ff- 

times to confuse his ideas as to his position in the room, and 

is then told to catch whom he can. If he catches some one, yet 

cannot tell who it is, he must go on again as blind man ; but if he 

can tell who it is, that person is blindfolded instead. Where there 

is a fire-place, or where the furniture has sharp corners, it is rather 

a good thing for some one not playing to be on the look-out to 

protect the blind man. Sometimes there are two blind men, 

who add to the fun by occasionally catching each other. But 

this is rather dangerous. There is also a game called " Jinglers " Jinglers. 

where every one is blind except one player with a bell, whom 

it is their object to catch. But this is more dangerous still. 

A good variety of "Blind Man's Buff" is the silent one. Silent blind 
Directly the man is blindfolded, and before he begins to seek, **«#'•*■ buff. 
all the players take up positions in corners, on chairs, or wher- 
ever they think most prudent, and there they must stop without 
making a sound. The task for the blind man is thus not 
catching the others, but, on finding them, deciding upon who they 
are. As chuckling or giggling is more likely to tell him than 
his sense of touch, it is tremendously important to make no noise 
if you can help it. Sometimes this game is played (without any 
standing on chairs) by a blind man armed with two spoons, Spoons. 



4 What Shall We Do Now ? 

with which he feels the features of those whom he runs against. 
In this case it is practically impossible to avoid laughing. The 
sensation produced by the bowls of two spoons being passed over 
the face in the attempt to recognise its owner is overwhelming. 

French blind In French "Blind Man's Buff" the hands of the blind man 
mans buff. are t j ec j behind hi s back and his eyes are left uncovered. ■ He 

has therefore to back on to the players before he can catch them, 

which increases his difficulties. 

Blind man's Here the blind man has a stick, one end of which is grasped 

wand. by thg other players in turn. The blind man puts three questions 

to each player, and his aim is to recognise by the voice who it is 
that replies. The aim of the players, therefore, is to disguise 
their voices as much as possible. Sometimes, instead of merely 
asking questions, the blind man instructs the holder of the wand 
to imitate some animal — a cock or a donkey, for example. 

Steps. The player who is blindfolded is first placed in the middle. 

The others walk from him to various positions all around, 
carefully measuring the number of steps (long or short) which 
take them there. The blind man is then told how many steps 
will bring him to a certain player, and he has to guess the 
direction towards him, and the length of step. This player, if 
found, becomes blind man. 

Shadow buff. A sheet is stretched across the room. One player stands 
on one side, and the rest, who remain on the other, pass one 
by one between the sheet and the candle which throws their 
shadows upon it. The aim of the single player is to put right 
names to the shadows on the sheet, and the aim of the others 
is, by performing antics, to keep him from recognising them. If 
it is not convenient to use both sides of a sheet, the single player 



What Shall We Do Now? 5 

may sit on a hassock close to it with his back to the others, 
while they pass between his hassock and the candle. 

A good-sized donkey without a tail is cut out of brown paper The donkey's 
and fixed on a screen or on a sheet hung across the room. The tail. 
tail is cut out separately and a hat-pin is put through that end of 
it which comes nearest the body. Each player in turn then 
holds the tail by the pin, shuts his eyes honestly, and, advancing 
to the donkey, pins the tail in what he believes to be the right 
place. The fun lies in his mistake. 

This is boisterous and rather messy, but it has many The blind 
supporters. Two players are blindfolded and seated on the feeding the 
floor opposite one another. They are each given a dessert- ^ in ^- 
spoonful of sugar or flour and are ' told to feed each other. 
It is well to put a sheet on the floor and to tie a towel or apron 
round the necks of the players. The fun belongs chiefly to the 
spectators. 

This is a game in which only two players take part, but it is Deer 
exciting to watch. Both " Deer " and " Stalker " are blindfolded, stalking. 
They are then placed at opposite ends of a large table, and at a 
given moment begin to move round it. The stalker's business 
is, of course, to catch the deer, and the deer's to avoid it ; but 
neither must run out into the room. Absolute silence should be 
kept both by the audience and players, and if felt slippers can be 
worn by the deer and its stalker so much the better. 

A very funny blind game. A candle is lighted and placed Blowing out 
in position about the height of a person's head. A player is the cafidle. 
then placed a few feet from it, facing it, and, after being blind- 
folded and turned round three times, is told to take so many 
paces (however many it may be) and blow the candle out 



6 What Shall We Do Now? 

Apple- Another amusing blind game to watch is apple-snapping. 

snapping. An a ppj e [ s hung from a string in the middle of the room about 

the height of the blind man's head. The blind man's hands 

are then tied, or he holds them strictly behind him, and he has 

to bite the apple. 

The same game can be played without blindfolding, but in 

that case it requires two players with their hands fixed behind 

them, each trying to bite the apple. 

Um. ■ In this game the players sit in a half circle with their knees 

well out. One player is blindfolded, and after the other players 
have all quietly changed their places, he sits down on some one's 
knees, saying " Um." The other answers " Um " in a disguised 
voice. This word is repeated three times, and then the blind man 
must guess upon whose knees he is perched. If he fails the 
sitters all change places. If he is right the one sat upon becomes 
blindfolded. The blind man must not touch the sitters with his 
hands in any way. 



Bag and 
stick. 



A good blind game for a Christmas party is " Bag and Stick." 
A fair-sized paper bag is filled with sweets and hung from a 
string in the middle of the room. A player is then blindfolded, 
turned round three times, given a stick, and told he may have 
one, two, or three shots at the bag ; whichever it may be. If he 
misses it, another one tries, and so on ; but if he hits it the bag 
breaks, the sweets cover the floor, and the party scramble for them. 



Scrambling. In "Scrambling" there is, of course, no need for the blindfolding 

and the stick. A scramble for sweets is very good fun in itself. 
Sticky sweets should not be used, nor sweets that squash easily. 



Puss in the Each player save one takes a cornen The other, who is the 

corner. puss, stands in the middle. The game begins by one corner 

player beckoning to another to change places. Their object is to 



What Shall We Do Now? 7 

get safely into each other's corner before the cat can. Puss's 
aim is to find a corner unprotected. If she does so, the player 
who has just left it, or the player who was hoping to be in it, 
becomes puss, according to whether or not they have crossed on 
their journey. 

The players sit in a circle on the floor, with their knees a Hunt the 
little gathered up. One stands in the middle with a slipper, and slipper. 
the game is begun by the handing by this one of the slipper to 
a player in the circle, with the remark — 

Cobbler, cobbler, mend my shoe, 
Get it done by half-past two, 

and then retiring from the circle for a few moments. The player 
to whom it was handed at once passes it on, so that when the 
owner of the slipper returns and demands her property again it 
cannot be found. With the hunt that then sets in the fun begins ; 
the object of every player in the circle being to keep the player 
in the middle from seeing the slipper, from getting hold of it, or 
from knowing where it is, as it rapidly travels under the knees of 
the players here and there in the circle. Now and then, if the 
seeker is badly mystified, the slipper may be tossed across the 
circle. The player in whose possession it is when at last secured 
changes place with the one in the middle. Other handy things 
will do quite as well as a slipper, but something fairly large should 
be chosen, or discovery may take too long ; and it ought to be 
soft in texture, or there may be bruises. 

This is partly a trick. A player who does not know the The whistle. 
game is put in the middle of the ring, round which a whistle is 
moving in the way that the slipper moves in " Hunt the Slipper." 
The object of the player in the middle is to discover the person 
who blew the whistle last. Meanwhile some one skilfully fixes 
another whistle on a string to the player's back, and that is the 



8 



What Shall We Do Now? 



whistle which is really blown. As it must always be behind 
him when it is blown, nothing but the twitching of the string is 
likely to help him to discover the blower (and the trick) ; and in 
a small circle where every one is moving and laughing it takes 
some time to notice the twitching- at all. 



bit. 



Thimble, or This is a very good game. All the company leave the room 

Threepenny save one _ He stays behind with a threepenny bit or a thimble, 
whichever is preferred, and this he has to place in some position 
where, though it is in sight, it will be difficult to discover. It may 
be high or low, on the floor or on the mantelpiece, but it must be 
visible. The company then return and begin to look for it. As 
the players find it they sit down, but it is more fun to do this 
very craftily and not at once, lest a hint be given as to the article's 
whereabouts. When every one has found it, or when a long 
enough time has been passed in looking for it, the thimble is 
hidden again, this time by the player who found it first. The 
game sounds easy, but it can be very difficult and very exciting, 
every one at the beginning of each search wishing to be 
first, and at the end wishing not to be last. Players often 
stand right over the thimble, staring directly at it, and still 
do not see it. 



Magic 
music. 



One player goes out. The others then hide something for 
him to find, or decide upon some simple action for him to per- 
form, such as standing on a chair. When he is called in, one of 
the company seats herself at the piano and directs his movements 
by the tone of the music. If he is far from the object hidden 
the music is very low ; as he gets nearer and nearer it becomes 
louder and louder. 



Hot and 
cold. 



The same game is played under the name of " Hot and Cold." 
In this case the player is directed by words ; as he gets nearer 



What Shall We Do Now? 9 

and nearer the object he becomes " warm," " hot," " very hot," 
" burning " ; when quite off the scent he is " cold." 



Some one sits at the piano, and a long row of chairs is made Musical 
down the middle of the room, either back to back, or back and chairs. 
front alternately. There must be one chair fewer than the 
number of players. When all is ready the music begins and 
the players march round the chairs in a long line. Suddenly 
the music stops, and directly it does so every one tries to sit- 
down. As there is one player too many some one must neces- 
sarily be left without a chair. That player has therefore to leave 
the game, another chair is taken away, and the music begins 
again. So on to the end, a chair and a player going after each 
round. The winner of the game is the one who, when only one 
chair is left, gets it. It is against the rules to move the chairs. 
A piano, it ought to be pointed out, is not absolutely necessary. 
Any form of music will do ; or if there is no instrument some 
one might sing, or tap the fire-irons together, or read aloud. 
But a piano is best, and the pianist ought now and then to pretend 
to stop, because this makes it more exciting for the players. 



This is another variety of " Musical Chairs." All the players The sea and 
but one, who represents the sea, have chairs. The sea goes out ner children. 
of the room, and while he is gone each player takes the name of 
a fish. The sea then returns and calls out all the names of fishes 
he can think of. When he mentions a name of one that has 
been chosen, the player representing it rises and stands behind 
him. When all have been named the sea begins to move about, 
with his retinue of fish. Sometimes he runs, then "the sea is 
troubled " ; sometimes he walks slowly, then " the sea is calmer." 
Suddenly he seats himself and all the fish try to do the same. 
The one that cannot find a seat becomes the sea. 



IO 



What Shall We Do Now ? 



Stir the 
mash. 



This is another variety of " Musical Chairs." The chairs are 
placed against the wall in a row, one fewer than the players. One 
of the players sits down in the middle of the room with a stick and 
pretends to be stirring a bowl of mash with it, while the others 
march round crying, " Stir the mash, stir the mash." Suddenly 
the player with the stick knocks three times on the floor, which 
is the signal for running for the chairs, and, leaping up, runs for 
them too. The one who does not get a chair has to stir the 
mash next. 



Caterpillar. A circle of chairs is made, and all the players but one sit on 

them. This player stands in the middle and his chair is left 
empty. The game consists in his efforts to sit down in the 
empty chair and the others' attempts to stop him by continually 
moving one way or the other, so that the empty chair may this 
moment be on one side of the ring and the next on the other. 



Honey-pots. This is a game for several little players and two stronger 

ones. The little ones are the honey-pots, and the others the 
honey-seller and honey-buyer. The honey-pots sit in a row with 
their knees gathered up and their hands locked together under 
them. The honey -buyer comes to look at them, asking the 
honey-seller how much they are and how much they weigh ; and 
these two take hold of the pots by the arms, one on each side,, 
and weigh them by swinging them up and down (that is why the 
hands have to be tightly locked under the knees). Then the 
buyer says he will have them, and the seller and he carry them 
to the other end of the room together. Once there the seller 
returns, but quickly comes running back in alarm because he has 
missed his own little girl (or boy), and he fancies she must be 
in one of the honey-pots. The buyer assures him that he is 
mistaken, and tells him to taste them and see for himself that 
they are only honey. So the seller goes from one to the other, 
placing his hand on their heads and pretending to taste honey. 



What Shall We Do Now? n 

until at last, coming to the one he has marked down, he exclaims, 
" Dear me, this tastes just like my little girl." At these words 
the little girl in question jumps up and runs away, and all the 
other honey-pots run away too. 

The players stand in two rows, facing each other and Nuts in 

holding hands. A line is drawn on the carpet (or ground) May. 

between them. One row then step towards the other, 
singing — 

Here we come gathering nuts in May, nuts in May, nuts in May, 
Here we come gathering nuts in May, on a cold and frosty morning. 

They then fall back and the other row advance to them, singing 

in reply — 

Pray, who will you gather for nuts in May, nuts in May, nuts in May ? 
Pray, who will you gather for nuts in May, on a cold and frosty morning ? 

The first row, after settling on the particular player on the 

opposite side that they want, reply thus — 

We'll gather Phyllis for nuts in May, nuts in May, nuts in May, 
We'll gather Phyllis for nuts in May, on a cold and frosty morning. 

The other row then ask — 

Pray, who will you send to fetch her away, fetch her away, fetch her away ? 
Pray, who will you send to fetch her away, on a cold and frosty morning ? 

The answer perhaps is — 

We're sending Arthur to fetch her away, fetch her away, fetch her away, 
vVe're sending Arthur to fetch her away, on a cold and frosty morning. 

Arthur then steps up to the line on one side and Phyllis on 
the other, and each tries to pull the other over it. The one that 
loses has to join the other row, and the singing begins again. 

All the players, except one, stand in a line. The other, who q^ so i^ er 
is the old soldier, then totters up to the end player, saying — 

Here comes an old soldier from Botany Bay ; 
Pray, what have you got to give him to-day ? 



12 



What Shall We Do Now? 



My lady's 
clothes. 



The player must then say what she will give him, but in doing 
so must not use the words " yes," " no," " black," " white " or 
" scarlet." The old soldier's object is to try and coax one of 
these words out of her, and he may ask any question he likes 
in order to do so. A mistake usually means a forfeit. 

A colour-barred game for girls is " My Lady's Clothes " or 
" Dressing the Lady." The players first decide on what colours 
shall be forbidden, perhaps blue, black, and pink. The first one 
then asks the next, " How shall my lady be dressed for the ball ? " 
and the answer must contain no mention of these colours. This 
question goes round the ring, no article being allowed to be 
mentioned twice. 



Here I bake. One player stands in the middle. The others join hands and 

surround her, their aim being to prevent her from getting out 
of the ring. She then passes round the ring touching the hands, 
at the first hands saying " Here I bake," at the second " Here I 
brew," at the third " Here I make my wedding-cake," and at the 
next " And here I mean to break through." With these last words 
she makes a dash to carry out the threat. If she succeeds, the 
player whose hand gave way first takes her place in the middle. 
Otherwise she must persevere until the ring is broken. 



The cobbler. The cobbler sits in the middle on a stool or hassock, and the 

others join hands and dance round him. " Now then, customers," 
says the cobbler, " let me try on your shoes," and at the same 
time — but without leaving his seat — makes a dash for some one's 
feet. The aim of the others is to avoid being caught. Whoever 
is caught becomes cobbler. 

Cushion. The name of this game dates ' from the period when stiff 

cylinder-shaped horsehair sofa-cushions were commoner than they 
are now. One of these is placed in the middle of the room and 



What Shall We Do Now? 13 

the players join hands and dance round it, the object of each one 
being to make one of his neighbours knock the cushion over 
and to avoid knocking it over himself. Whoever does knock 
it down leaves the ring, until at last there are only two striving 
with each other. A hearth-brush, if it can be persuaded to stand 
up, makes a good substitute for a cushion. It also makes the 
game more difficult, being so very sensitive to touch. 

The players sit in a ring, and the game is begun by one The days 
saying to the next, " I've just come back from shopping." " Yes," shopping. 
is the reply, " and what have you bought ? " The first speaker 
has then to name some article which, without leaving her seat, 
she can touch, such as a pair of boots, a necktie, a watch-chain, 
a bracelet. Having done so, the next player takes up the 
character of the shopper, and so on round the ring. No article 
must, however, be named twice, which means that when the 
game has gone on for a round or two the answers become very 
difficult to find. 

Half the players go out, and the others stay in and arrange Hissing and 
the chairs in a line so that there is an empty one next to every clapping. 
person. Each then chooses which of the others he will have 
to occupy the adjoining chair, and when this is settled some one 
tells the outside party that they can begin. One of them then 
comes in and takes the chair for which he thinks it most likely 
that he has been chosen. If he is right, everybody claps and 
he stays there. But if wrong, everybody hisses and he has to 
go out again. Another player then comes in, and so on until all 
the chairs are filled. 

An extension of this game is " Neighbours." In " Neigh- Neighbours 
bours " half the company are blindfolded, and are seated with an 
empty chair on the right hand of each. At a given signal all 
the other players occupy these empty chairs, as mysteriously as 



H What Shall We Do Now? 

they can, and straightway begin to sing, either all to a tune 
played on the piano or independently. The object of the blind 
players is to find out, entirely by the use of the ear, who it is 
that is seated on their right. Those that guess correctly are 
unbandaged, and their places are taken by the players whose 
names they guessed. The others continue blindfolded until they 
guess rightly. One guess only is allowed each time. 

Oranges and This pleasant old game begins by two of the older or taller 
lemons. players — one being Oranges and the other Lemons — taking places 

opposite each other and joining their hands high, thus making an 
arch for the rest to pass under in a long line. The procession 
then starts, each one holding the one in front by the coat or 
dress. As the procession moves along, the two players forming 
the arch repeat or chant these lines : — 

" Oranges and lemons," 

Say the bells of St. Clement's. 

"You owe me five farthings," 

Say the bells of St. Martin's. 

" When will you pay me ? " 

Say the bells of Old Bailey. 

" When I grow rich," 

Say the bells of Shoreditch. 

" When will that be ? " 

Say the bells of Stepney. 

" I do not know," 

Says the great bell of Bow. 

Here comes a candle to light you to bed, 

And here comes a chopper to chop off the last man's head. 

With these final words the arch -players lower their arms and 
catch the head of the last of the procession. In order that the 
arrival of the end of the procession and the end of the verses 
shall come together, the last line can be lengthened like this — 

And here comes a chopper to chop off the last — last — last — last man's head. 
The captured player is then asked in a whisper which he will be, 



What Shall We Do Now? 15 

oranges or lemons ? and if he says oranges, is placed accordingly 
behind that one of his capturers who is to have the oranges on his 
side. The procession and the rhyme begin again, and so on until 
all are caught and are ranged on their respective sides. Then a 
handkerchief is placed on the floor between the captains of the 
oranges and the lemons, and both sides pull, as in the " Tug of 
War" (p. 33), until one side is pulled over the handkerchief. 



The players sit round the room in a large circle, and, after General post. 
appointing a postmaster to write down their names and call out 
the changes, choose each a town. One player is then blind- 
folded and placed in the middle. The game begins when the 
postmaster calls out the first journey, thus, " The post is going 
from Putney to Hong-Kong." The player who has chosen 
Putney and the player who has chosen Hong-Kong must then 
change places without being caught by the blind man, or without 
letting him get into either of their chairs first. Otherwise the 
player who is caught, or who ought to be in that chair, becomes 
the blind man. Every now and then " General Post " is called, 
when all the players have to change seats at the same time ; 
and this gives the blind man an excellent chance. 

A wooden bread -platter or a plate, to serve as trencher, is Turn the 
placed in the middle of the room. The players sit round it in a trencher. 
large circle, each choosing either a number by which to be known, 
or the name of a town. The game is begun by one player taking 
up the trencher, spinning it, calling out a number or town 
belonging to another, and hurrying back to his place. The one 
called has to spring up and reach the trencher before it falls, and, 
giving it a fresh spin, call some one else. So it goes on. On 
paper there seems to be little in it, but in actual play the game 
is good on account of the difficulty of quite realising that it is 
one's own borrowed name that has been called. 



16 What Shall We Do Now? 

Kitchen This is a variety of " Turn the Trencher." The players sit in 

utensils. a r j n g anc j choose each the name of some kitchen utensil or 
something used in cooking, such as Sausage-machine or Sultanas. 
One player then goes in the middle with a bunched-up handker- 
chief, and this he throws at some one, at the same time trying to 
say the name of that some one's kitchen utensil three times before 
that some one can say it once. If, as very often happens, the player 
at whom the handkerchief is thrown is so completely bewildered 
as to have lost the power of speech or memory until it is too late, 
he must change places with the one in the middle. 

Up Jenkyns, The players sit on opposite sides of a table, or in two opposite 

or Coddam. rows of chairs with a cloth spread over their laps. A sixpence 
or other small object is then passed about among the hands of 
one of the sides under the table or cloth. At the word " Up 
Jenkyns ! " called by the other side, all these hands tightly clenched 
must be at once placed in view on the table or the cloth. The 
first player on the other side then carefully scans the faces of his 
opponents to see if any one bears an expression which seems to 
betray his possession of the sixpence, and, having made up his 
mind, reaches over and touches the hand in which he hopes the 
sixpence is, saying, " Tip it." The hand is then opened. If the 
guess is right the guessing side take the sixpence and hide it. 
If wrong, the same side hide it again, and the second player on the 
guessing side tries his luck at discovering its whereabouts. A 
score is decided on before the game begins, and the winning side 
is that which first makes that number of right guesses. 

Hunt the All the players but one form a circle, with their hands on 

rin S' a piece of string on which a ring has been threaded. The 

other player stands in the middle of the circle. The ring is then 

hurried up and down the string from end to end, the object 

being to keep its whereabouts hidden from the other player. 



What Shall We Do Now? 17 

In this game, which is usually played by girls, one player hides Lady Queen 
her eyes, while the others, who are sitting in a row, pass a ball Anne. Two 
from one to another until it is settled who shall keep it. This vcrsions - 
done, they all hide their hands in their laps, as if each one had it ; 
and the other player is called, her aim being to discover in whose 
hands the ball is hidden. She examines the faces of the others 
very closely until she makes up her mind which one probably has 
the ball, and then addresses that one thus — 

Lady Queen Anne, she sits in the sun, 

As fair as a lily, as brown as a bun, 

She sends you three letters and prays you'll read one. 

To this the player replies — 

I cannot read one unless I read all ; 

and the seeker answers — 

Then pray, Miss [whatever the name is], deliver the ball. 

If the ball really is with this player, the seeker and she change 
places, but otherwise the seeker hides her eyes again and the ball 
changes hands (or not). And so on until it is found. 

Another way is for sides to be taken, one consisting of Queen 
Anne and her maids and the other of gipsies. The gipsies have 
the ball first, and, having hidden it, they advance in a line towards 
Queen Anne, each holding up her skirts as if the ball were there, 
singing — 

Lady Queen Anne, she sits in the sun, 
As fair as a lily, as brown as a bun. 
King John has sent you letters three, 
And begs you'll read one unto me. 

Lady Queen Anne and her maids reply — 

We cannot read one unless we read all, 
So pray, Miss [whatever the name of the player chosen may be], deliver the ball. 

C 



i8 



What Shall We Do Now? 



If they have hit upon the right player she goes over to Queen 
Anne's side. But if not, the gipsies sing — 

The ball is mine, it is not thine, 

So you, proud Queen, sit still on your throne, 

While we poor gipsies go and come. 

They then turn round and hide the ball again. 

The feather, A very exhausting game. The players sit round a table and 

and kindred form sides, one half against the other, and a little fluffy feather 
table games. j s pi acec j j n th e middle. The aim of each side is to blow the 

feather so that it settles in the other camp, and to keep it from 

settling in their own. 

The same game can be played with a marble on a table from 

which the table-cloth has been removed. In this case you all 

sink your faces to the level of the table. 

Perhaps the best of all table games of this kind is " Squails " ; 

but this requires to be bought. A tiny set of ninepins can 

also lead to good fun, and a box of " Spillikins " is a useful 

possession. See page 65 for other table games, which are not, 

however, the best things for a large party. 



Russian 
scandal. 



Advertise- 
ments. 



The players sit in a long line or ring. The first, turning to 
the second, whispers very rapidly some remark or a brief story. 
The second, who may hear it distinctly, but probably does not, 
then whispers it as exactly as he can to the third player ; and 
so on until the line is finished. The last player then whispers 
it to the first player ; and the first player repeats his original 
remark to the company, and follows it with the form in which it 
has just reached him. 

All the players sit in a ring, except one, who stands in the 
middle holding a soft cushion. This he throws at any one of the 
players and begins to count ten. The person at whom the 



What Shall We Do Now? 19 

cushion was thrown must call out the words of a well-known 
advertisement before ten is reached. If he fails he must pay a 
forfeit. 

The players, or jury, form up in two rows facing each other. Judge and 
The judge sits at one end, or passes between the two Wnes,J ur y- 
and asks his questions. These may be of any description. 
Perhaps he will say, " Miss A., do you think it will rain to- 
morrow?" Now although the judge addresses Miss A. and looks 
at her, it is not she who must answer but the player opposite 
to her. And he in his answer is not allowed to say either 
"Yes," "No," "Black," "White," or "Grey." If the player 
who was addressed answers she becomes judge and the judge 
takes her seat ; or if the opposite player does not answer before 
the judge has counted ten he becomes judge and the judge 
takes his seat. 

The players sit in a circle, and the game begins by one player Cross- 
turning to the next and asking a question. Perhaps it will be, questions 

"Did you get very wet this evening?" The answer may be, and crooked 
„ -r- it,, , • , .. A-i , , , , answers. 

rortunately I had a mackintosh. Ihe second player then asks 

the third, and so on round the circle until it comes to the first 

player's turn to be asked a question by the last one. Perhaps 

this question will be, " I hope your cousin is better ? " All these 

questions and answers have to be very carefully remembered, 

because on the circle being complete each player in turn has to 

repeat the question which was put to her and the answer which 

she received to the question which she herself put. Thus in the 

present instance the first player would announce that the question 

was, " I hope your cousin is better ? " and the answer, " Fortunately 

I had a mackintosh." 

A circle is formed, with one chair larger than the others at the The priest of 
head of it. In this the player chosen to be the priest sits. Each the parish. 



20 What Shall We Do Now? 

of the company, including the priest, then chooses a colour. One 
will take blue, another pink, another yellow, and so on, and these 
are known as Mr. Blue Cap, Mr. Pink Cap, Mr. Yellow Cap, and 
so on. (There is usually a Fool's Cap too.) The game is begun 
by the priest saying, " The priest of the parish has lost his con- 
sidering cap. Who stole it ? Some say this, some say that ; but 
I say [then he looks round the company and perhaps fixes on the 
member who chose black] Mr. Black Cap." Mr. Black Cap must 
then say, " What, I, sir ? " " Yes, you, sir," says the priest. " Not 
I, sir," says Mr. Black Cap. " Who then, sir ? " asks the priest. 
And here Mr. Black Cap has the opportunity of passing the game 
on by fixing on another player. Perhaps it is Mr. Yellow Cap. 
If so, Mr. Black Cap will say, " Mr. Yellow Cap," and Mr. Yellow 
Cap and Mr. Black Cap then carry on the same dialogue : 
" What, I, sir ? " " Yes, you, sir." " Not I, sir." " Who then, 
sir ? " Any mistake in the order of words and the player has 
to take his place at the bottom of the class, and all the others 
move up one. So long as there are no mistakes the dialogue is 
held between the players ; but after a mistake the priest takes 
it up again by putting the original remark about the theft of his 
cap. A player may, if he likes, charge the priest himself with 
the theft, calling him ' by his colour. If the priest makes any 
mistake he goes to the bottom too, and the players move up so 
that the next top one becomes the new priest. 

Fly away ! , The player who is chosen as leader sits down and places the 
first finger of her right hand on her knee. The others crowd 
round her and also place the first finger of their right hands on 
her knee, close to hers. The game is for the leader to raise her 
finger suddenly, saying, " Fly away [something]." If that some- 
thing is not capable of flight the other fingers must not move, 
but if it can fly they must rise also. Thus, " Fly away, thrush ! " 
u Fly away, pigeon ! " " Fly away, butterfly ! " should cause all the 
fingers to spring up. But of " Fly away, omnibus ! " " Fly away, 



What Shall We Do Now? 21 

cat ! " " Fly away,, pig ! " no notice should be taken. The game 
is, of course, to catch players napping. 

This is a very confusing game of contraries for five players. Holdfast! 
Four of them hold each the corner of a handkerchief. The other, Let go / 
who stands by to give orders, then shouts either " Let go ! " or 
" Hold fast ! " When " Let go ! " is called, the handkerchief 
must be held as firmly as ever ; but when " Hold fast ! " it must 
be dropped. The commands should be given quickly and now 
and then repeated to add to the anxiety of the other players. 

In this game one player represents a sergeant and the others The 
are soldiers whom he is drilling. When he makes an action sergeant. 
and says " Do this " the others have to imitate him ; but if he 
says " Do that " they must take no notice. 

A somewhat similar game of contraries is " The Grand Mufti." The Grand 
The player personating the Grand Mufti stands in the middle Mufti. 
or on a chair, and performs whatever action he likes with his 
hands, arms, head, and legs. With each movement he says, 
" Thus does the Grand Mufti," or, " So does the Grand Mufti." 
When it is " Thus does the Grand Mufti " the other players must 
imitate his movement ; but when it is " So does the Grand 
Mufti " they must take no notice. Any mistakes may lead 
to forfeits. 

There is no contrariness about " The Mandarins." The players The 
sit in a circle, and the game is begun by one of them remarking Mandarins. 
to the next, " My ship has come home from China." The answer 
is " Yes, and what has it brought ? " The first player replies, 
" A fan," and begins to fan herself with her right hand. All 
the players must copy her. The second player then turns to 
the third (all still fanning) and remarks, " My ship has come 
home from China." l< Yes, and what has it brought?" "Two 



22 What Shall We Do Now ? 

fans." All the players then fan themselves with both hands. 
The third player, to the fourth (all still fanning), " My ship has 
come home from China." " Yes, and what has it brought ? " 
" Three fans." All the players then add a nodding head to their 
other movements. And so on, until when " Nine fans " is 
reached, heads, eyes, mouth, hands, feet and body are all moving. 
The answers and movements of this game may be varied. " Thus 
the second answer to the question " And what has it brought " 
might be "A bicycle," when the feet of all the players would 
have to move as if working pedals ; the third answer could be a 
" snuff-box," which should set all the players sneezing ; and so 
on. A type-writer, a piano, a barrel-organ, a football, would vary 
the game. 

Buff. This test of self-control is rather a favourite ; but it is not so 

much a game as a means of distributing forfeits. The players 
sit in a circle. One then stands up and, holding out a stick, 
repeats these lines — 

Buff says Buff to all his men, 

And I say Buff to you again. 

Buff never laughs, Buff never smiles, 

In spite of all your cunning wiles, 

But carries his face 

With a very good grace, 

And passes his stick to the very next place. 

This must be said without laughing or smiling. Each player in 
turn holds the stick and repeats the verses, those that laugh or 
smile having, when it is over, to pay a forfeit. 

The ditto This is another game in which laughter is forbidden. The 

game. players sit close together in a silent circle. Whatever the leader 

does the others have to do, but without smile or sound. Perhaps 

the leader will begin by pulling the next player's hair, and pass 

on to pat her cheek, or prod her sides, or pinch her nose. 



What Shall We Do Now? 23 

Another trial of composure. The players choose what Statues. 
positions they will and become as still and as silent as statues. 
One player is Judge. It is his business to try and make the 
statues laugh. All who laugh pay forfeits ; but the one who 
keeps his face grave longest becomes "Judge." 

" Laughter " is just the opposite. The company sit in a Laughter. 
circle and the game is begun by one throwing a handkerchief 
into the air. Immediately this is done every one must begin to 
laugh and continue to laugh until the handkerchief touches the 
ground. They must then stop or leave the circle. Gradually 
all will leave but one, who must then perform by himself, if he 
is willing. 

One third of the company agree to say " Hish " all together The 
at a given signal, another third agree to say " Hash," and the concerted 
rest agree to say " Hosh." The word of command is then given, sneeze - 
and the result is the sound as of a tremendous sneeze. 

In " Bingo " the players begin by joining hands and marching Bingo. 
round, singing — 

There was a farmer had a dog 

His name was Bobby Bingo O. 

B, I, N, G, O, 

B, I, N, G, O, 

B, I, N, G, O, 

And Bingo was his name O ! 

The players then loose hands, the girls go inside the ring 
and stand there, and the boys run round them singing the rhyme 
again. Then the boys go inside and the girls run round them 
and sing it. And then hands are taken once more and all go 
round in the original circle singing it a fourth time. If no boys 
are playing, the girls should arrange, before the game begins, 
which shall personate them. 



24 What Shall We Do Now? 

The The players join hands and go round and round in a ring, 

mulberry singing — 
bush. 

Here we go round the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, 

Here we go round the mulberry bush 

On a fine and frosty morning. 

They then let go hands and sing — 

This is the way we wash our clothes, wash our clothes, wash our clothes, 
This is the way we wash our clothes 
On a fine and frosty morning, 

and as they sing they pretend to be washing. After the verse 
is done they join hands again and dance round to the singing 
of the mulberry bush chorus again, and so on after each verse. 
The other verses are — 

(2) This is the way we iron our clothes. 

(3) This is the way we wash our face. 

(4) This is the way we comb our hair. 

(5) This is the way we go to school {very sadly). 

(6) This is the way we learn our book. 

(7) This is the way we sew our seams. 

And lastly and very gaily — 

(8) This is the way we come from school, 

and then the chorus comes again, and the game is done. 

Looby, looby. This is another of the old country games in which the players 
all have to do the same things. They first join hands and 
dance round, singing — 

Here we dance Looby, looby, 

Here we dance Looby light, 
Here we dance Looby, looby, 

All on a Saturday night. 

Then, letting go of hands and standing still, they sing — 



What Shall We Do Now? 25 

Put your right hands in, 

Put your right hands out, 
Shake them and shake them a little, 

And turn yourselves about, 

and at the same time they do what the song directs. Then the 
dance and chorus again, and then the next verse, and so on. 
This is the order — 

(2) Put your left hands in. 

(3) Put your right feet in. 

(4) Put your left feet in. 

(5) Put your noddles in. 

Put your bodies in, 

Put your bodies out, 
Shake them and shake them a little, 

And turn yourselves about. 

A nonsensical game, useful in leading to forfeits. The company A good fat 
sit in a row, and one of the end players begins by saying, " A hen- 
good fat hen." Each of the others in turn must then say, " A good 
fat hen." The first player then says, " Two ducks and a good 
fat hen," and the words pass down the line. Then " Three 
squawking wild geese, two ducks, and a good fat hen." And so 
on until the end is reached, in the following order — 

Fourth round. — Prefix : Four plump partridges. 
Fifth round. — ,, Five pouting pigeons. 



And finally- 



Sixth round. — 
Seventh round.- 
Eighth round. — 
Ninth round. — 
Tenth round. — 



Six long-legged cranes. 
Seven green parrots. 
Eight screeching owls. 
Nine ugly turkey-buzzards. 
Ten bald eagles. 



The sentence has now reached a very difficult length : — " Ten 
bald eagles, nine ugly turkey-buzzards, eight screeching owls, 
seven green parrots, six long-legged cranes, five pouting pigeons, 
four plump partridges, three squawking wild geese, two ducks and 



26 What Shall We Do Now? 

a good fat hen." Any one making a mistake may be made to 
pay a forfeit. 

John Ball. The same game may be played also with " The House that 

Jack Built," and there are other stories of a similar kind. Among 
these the most amusing for a large party would perhaps be the 
old rhyme of " John Ball." 

First round. — John Ball shot them all. 

Second round. — John Block made the stock, 

But John Ball shot them all. 

Third round. — John Brammer made the rammer, 
John Block made the stock, 

But John Ball shot them all. 

Fourth round. — John Wyming made the priming, 
John Brammer made the rammer, 
John Block made the stock, 

But John Ball shot them all. 

Fifth round. — John Scott made the shot. . . 

Sixth round. — John Crowder made the powder. . . . 

Seventh round. — John Puzzle made the muzzle. . . . 

Eighth round. — John Farrell made the barrel. . . . 

Ninth round. — John Clint made the flint. . . . 

Tenth round. — John Patch made the match. . . . 

In the tenth round, then, each player has to say — 

John Patch made the match, 
John Clint made the flint, 
John Farrell made the barrel 
John Puzzle made the muzzle, 
John Crowder made the powder 
John Scott made the shot, , 
John Wyming made the priming, 
John Brammer made the rammer, 
John Block made the stock, 

But John Ball shot them all. 

Chitterbob. There is also the old rhyme of " Chitterbob," but it is usual in 

repeating this to say it all at once, in one round, and not prolong 
the task. This is the rhyme : — 



What Shall We Do Now? 27 

There was a man and his name was Cob 
He had a wife and her name was Mob, 
He had a dog and his name was Bob, 
She had a cat and her name was Chitterbob. 

" Bob," says Cob ; 

" Chitterbob," says Mob. 
Bob was Cob's dog, 
Mob's cat was Chitterbob, 

Cob, Mob, Bob, and Chitterbob. 

In the old way of playing " Chitterbob " a paper horn used to 
be twisted into the player's hair for each mistake made in the 
recitation, and at the end these horns could be got rid of only by 
paying forfeits. 

" The Muffin Man " is another variety. The players sit in a The muffin 
circle, and the game is begun by one of them turning to the next man ' 
and asking, either in speech or in song — 

Oh, do you know the muffin man, the muffin man, the muffin man ? 
Oh, do you know the muffin man who lives in Drury Lane ? 

The reply is — 

Oh, yes I know the muffin man, the muffin man, the muffin man, 
Oh, yes I know the muffin man who lives in Drury Lane. 

Both players then repeat together — 

Then two of us know the muffin man, the muffin man, the muffin man, 
Then two of us know the muffin man who lives in Drury Lane. 

This done, the second player turns to the third and the same 
question and answer are given ; but when it comes to the 
comment — 

Then three of us know the muffin man, . . . 

the first player also joins in. At the end therefore, if there are 
eight people playing, the whole company is singing — 

Then eight of us know the muffin man, the muffin man, the muffin man, 
Then eight of us know the muffin man who lives in Drury Lane. 



28 What Shall We Do Now? 

Family In " Family Coach " each player takes the name of a part of 

coach. a coach, as the axle, the door, the box, the reins, the whip, the 

wheels, the horn ; or of some one connected with it, as the driver, 
the guard, the ostlers, the landlord, the bad-tempered passenger, 
the cheerful passenger, the passenger who made puns, the old 
lady with the bundle, and the horses — wheelers and leaders. 
One player then tells a story about the coach, bringing in as 
many of these people and things as he can, and as often. 
Whenever a person or thing represented by a player is mentioned, 
that player must stand up and turn round. But whenever the 
coach is mentioned the whole company must stand up and turn 
round. Otherwise, forfeits. A specimen story is here given as a 
hint as to the kind of thing needed : — 

"There's the railway, of course," said Mr. Burly, "and there's the motor 
wagonette, and you've all got bicycles ; but let's go to London in the old- 
fashioned way for once ; let's go in the Family Coach.'''' These words 
delighted everybody. " Oh yes," they all cried, " let's go in the Family Coach.'''' 
It was therefore arranged, and John the Coachman had orders to get everything 
ready. This was no light matter, for the Family Coach had not been used for 
many years, and it would need to be taken to the coachbuilder's at once and be 
overhauled. So the next morning it lumbered off, and it did not come back 
for a week ; but when it did there was a change indeed. The wheels had been 
painted red, the axles had been tested, the springs renewed, the inside re-lined, 
the roof freshly upholstered, and the whole made bright and gay. At last 
the morning came, a clear, sunny day, and punctually at nine John rattled up 
to the door. The horses stood there pawing the ground, as if ready to gallop 
all the way. John had a new coat and hat, and Tim and Peter, the grooms, 
were also in new livery. Every one was ready. First came Mr. Burly in a 
wonderful great overcoat, and then Mrs. Burly in furs. Then Uncle Joshua, 
then Aunt Penelope, and then the three girls and two boys. How they all 
found room I don't know, but they did. " Are we all ready ? " said Mr. Burly. 
"All ready," said Uncle Joshua. So Tim and Peter sprang away from the 
horses' heads, crack went the whip, round went the wheels, Uncle Joshua blew 
the horn, and the old Family Coach was fairly on its journey. 

It was a splendid ride. John kept his horses going at a grand pace and 
hardly used the whip at all, the wheels ran smoothly over the road, and 
whenever we passed through a village Uncle Joshua blew the horn. We 
stopped at Thornminster for lunch. John brought us up to the inn door in 
style, and the landlord came out rubbing his hands and helped Mrs. Burly and 



What Shall We Do Now? 29 

Aunt Penelope down with a flourish. " Proud to see you, sir," he said to Mr. 
Burly. "It is seldom enough that folks travel nowadays in an old Family 
Coach. I wish there were more of them." 

After lunch we went along in the same splendid way until suddenly round 
a corner came a donkey-cart with the donkey braying at the top of his voice. 
John pulled the horses well over to the side, but the braying was too much for 
them, and they rolled into the ditch. In a moment the old Family Coach 
was overturned. Mr. Burly was shot into the field across the hedge, Uncle 
Joshua, grasping the horn, landed in a pond, John and Aunt Penelope, Mrs. 
Burly and the grooms all stuck in the hedge. No one was hurt, but two of 
the wheels were broken to pieces and one axle was bent, and that was therefore 
the last of the old Family Coach. So we never got to London in the old way 
after all. 

If this story is not long enough, it can be lengthened. The 
words in italics are those to be distributed among the company, 
each player taking more than one if necessary. When the accident 
comes they might all fall down as they are mentioned. In the 
case of the wheels and the horses, these may either be taken all 
four by one player, or eight players may share them. Thus, 
when the wheels are mentioned, all four players who have taken 
the wheels would stand up and turn round, and four others when 
the horses were alluded to. 

" The Traveller " was, many years ago, a favourite variety of The 

the " Family Coach." In this game a player with a ready tongue traveller, 

was chosen as traveller, and the others were given such names as a , n * 

bicyclist. 

landlord, boots, ostler, waiter, chambermaid, candle, oats, horse, 

supper, paper, private room, bedroom, warming-pan, slippers, and 

so on. The traveller was then supposed to arrive and give his 

orders. " Here, landlord, can I have a bed to-night ? Good. And 

how soon will supper be ready ? Tell the ostler to give my horse 

a good feed of oats. Show me to a private room and send up 

the papers" And so on, each person named having to stand up 

or be booked for a forfeit. 

This game lends itself to various new forms. One might be 

called "The Bicyclist" and run thus: — A player having been 



3Q 



What Shall We Do Now? 



chosen as the bicyclist, the others take as many bicycling names 
(or two names each might add to the fun) as there are players. 
Thus — lamp, wick, oil, handle-bars, spokes, tyres, chain, air-pump, 
spanner, nuts, bell, flints, hedges, fields, sheep, roads, hill, dog. 
This settled, the bicyclist will begin his story, something in 
this style : — 

It looked so fine this morning that I determined to go for a long ride. 
So I got out the air-pump and blew up the tyres, put the spafiner to a few 
nuts, filled the lamp, trimmed the wick, polished up the bell and the handle-bars, 
and started off. The roads were perfect except for a dressing of flints by the 
vicarage. The fields were shining with dew, the hedges were sweet with honey- 
suckle, and I skimmed along like the wind until suddenly, at the turn at the 
foot of Claymore Hill, I rode bang into a flock of sheep and came down with 
a smash. You never saw such a ruin. The lamp and bell were lost com- 
pletely, the handle-bars were twisted into corkscrews, the tyres were cut to 
ribbons, the spokes looked like part of a spider's web, my hands and my knees 
were full of flints, and the worst of it was that the shepherd's dog mistook 
me for an enemy and I had to beat him off with the spanner, until the 
shepherd, who seems to have been asleep on the other side of the hedge, 
heard the noise and came to the rescue. 

During this story all the players named would, in the ordinary 
way, stand up for a moment when their adopted names were 
mentioned, except at the point when the accident occurs, and 
then every player bearing the name of a part of the bicycle — the 
handle-bars, spokes, tyres, chain, air-pump, lamp, wick, bell, 
spanner, air-pump, nuts — should fall to the ground. 

Trades. In this game each player chooses the name of a trade. A 

story is then told, in which the hero calls at different shops and 
gives the first letter of some purchase which he makes. The 
player whose shop is mentioned must, before ten can be counted, 
name a suitable article beginning with the letter given. 



Drawing- 
room 
acrobatics. 



There are various feats which can be performed in a small 
room without injury to furniture. To lie flat on the floor on 
one's back and be lifted into an upright position by a pair of 



What Shall We Do Now? 31 

hands under the back of the head, keeping stiff all the time, is 
a favourite accomplishment. Another is to bend over and touch 
the floor with the tips of the fingers without bending the knees. 
Another is, keeping your feet behind a line, to see who, by 
stretching along the ground supported on the left hand only, 
can place a penny with the right hand the farthest distance 
and get back again to an upright position behind the line 
without moving the feet or using the right hand for a support. 
This done, the penny must be recovered in the same way. 

Another feat is, keeping your feet together and one arm 
behind you, to see how far back from the wall it is possible to 
place your feet (remembering that you have to get into an upright 
position again) while you lean forward supported by the other 
hand laid flat against the wall. 

Another is to keep the toes to a line, and kneel down and 
get up again without using the hands. 

Another is to make a bridge of your body from chair to chair, 
resting the back of your neck on one and your heels on the other. 
This is done by beginning with three chairs, one under the back, 
and then when you are rigid enough having the third one removed. 

If you hold your hands across your chest in a straight line Acrobatic 
with the tips of the forefingers pressed together, it will be im- impossi- 
possible for any one else, however strong, to hold by your arms blllttes - 
and pull those finger-tips apart. 

It is quite safe to stand a person against the wall with his 
heels touching it, and, laying a shilling on the floor a foot or so 
in front of him, to say it will be his if he can pick it up without 
moving his heels from the wall. 

Another impossible thing is to stand sideways against the 
wall with your left cheek, left heel, and left leg touching it, and 
then raise the right leg. 

In this contest two boys are first trussed. Trussing consists The trussed 
of firmly tying wrists and ankles, bringing the elbows down ./#«'&•• 



32 



What Shall We Do Now ? 



below the knees and slipping a stick along over one elbow, under 
both knees and over the other elbow, as in the picture. The 
game is, for the two fowls to be placed opposite each other with 




A TRUSSED FOWL. 



The ca?idle- 
lighters. 



Hat and 
cards. 



their feet just touching, and for each then to strive to roll the 
other over with his toes. 

Another balancing game. Two boys face each other, each 
with a candle, one of which is lighted and the other not Kneel- 
ing on the right knee only and keeping the left leg entirely off 
the ground, they have to make one candle light the other. 

A tall hat is placed in the middle of the room and a pack 
of cards is dealt out to the players seated round it. The game 
is to throw the cards one by one into the hat. 



What Shall We Do Now? 33 

This is properly an outdoor game, but in a big room indoors Tug of war, 
it is all right. The two sides should be even in numbers, at 
any rate in the first pull. In the middle of the rope a hand- 
kerchief is tied, and three chalk lines a yard apart are made on 
the floor. The sides then grasp the rope, the captain of each 
side, whose duty it is to encourage his men by cheering cries, 
having his hands about a yard and a half from the handkerchief. 
The rope is then trimmed by the umpire until the handkerchief 
comes exactly over the middle one of the three lines. On the 
word being given, each side has to try and pull the rope so that 
the handkerchief passes over the chalk line nearest it. The 
best of three decides the victory. For the sake of sport it is 
better, if one side is much weaker than the other, to add to it 
until the balance of strength is pretty even. 

In this game goals are set up at each end of the room, the Parlour 
players are provided with fans, and the football is a blown hen's/ 00 ^ a ^- 
egg, which is wafted backwards and forwards along the floor. 
An air-ball would also do, but in that case the goal should be 
scored in the Rugby way — over instead of through. 

A string is stretched across the room at a height of about Air-ball. 
three or four feet. The players divide into sides and line up on 
each side of the string. The air-ball is then thrown up, the game 
being to keep it in the air backwards and forwards over the 
string, so that if it falls it will fall in the other side's camp. It 
ought to be tapped with the back of the fingers and not hit hard. 
A game called " Piladex " can be bought containing a number of 
small air-balls rather more suitable for the purpose than the 
ordinary large coloured ones. The game can be very exciting 
and boisterous. 

In this game tissue-paper is cut into pieces three or four Tissue-paper 
inches square. As many squares as there are players are placed race - 

D 



34 What Shall We Do Now? 

in a line at one end of the room, and at the other are placed 
two books, or other objects, a foot or so apart. At the word of 
command each competitor, who is armed with a Japanese fire- 
screen or fan, starts to fan his square through the goal-posts. 
For the sake of distinguishing them it is better to mark the 
papers or have them of different colours. A competitor may 
not fan any other square except by accident. 

Potato race. This is a good game for a hall or landing. Two baskets are 

needed, which are placed at one end of the hall about two yards 
apart, and then in a line from each basket are placed potatoes, 
at intervals of a yard or so all down the floor, an equal number 
to each line. Any even number of competitors can play, the 
race being run in heats. Each competitor is armed with a long 
spoon, and his task is to pick up all the potatoes on his line and 
return them to the basket before his opponent can. Each 
potato must be carried to the basket in turn, and if dropped on 
the way must be picked up again before another can be touched, 
and the spoon only must be used. Any help from the other 
hand or from the foot disqualifies. 

Fire-buckets. At a fire in the country, where there is no hose, a line of men 

extends from the burning house to the nearest pond, and buckets 
are continually being passed along this line. Hence the name 
by which this excellent game is called here. It is played thus. 
A large number of miscellaneous and unbreakable articles — balls, 
boots, potatoes, books, and so on — are divided into two exactly 
equal groups, and each group is placed in a clothes basket. The 
company then forms into two equal lines, and each chooses a 
captain. Each captain stands by the basket at one end of his 
line, at the other end being a chair and another player standing 
by that. At the word " Start," the articles are handed one by one- 
by the captain to the first player in the line, and passed as quickly 
as possible without dropping to the player by the chair. As they 



What Shall We Do Now? 35 

come to him he piles them on the chair (without dropping any) 
until all are there, and then returns them with equal speed until 
the basket is filled again. The side which finishes first is the 
winner. If an article is dropped it must be picked up before 
any other of the articles can pass the player who dropped it. 

In many of the games already described mention has been Forfeits. 
made of " Forfeits." They do not now play quite so important a 
part in an evening's entertainment as once they did, but they can 
still add to the interest of games. " Paying a forfeit " means 
giving up to the player who is collecting forfeits some personal 
article or other — -a knife, a pencil, a handkerchief — which, at the 
end of the game, or later in the evening, has to be recovered by 
performing whatever penance is ordered. When the time comes 
for " crying the forfeits," as it is called, the player who has them 
sits in a chair, while another player, either blindfolded or hiding 
her eyes, kneels before her,. the remaining players standing all 
around. The first player then holds up a forfeit, remarking, " I 
have a thing, and a very pretty thing. Pray what shall be done 
to the owner of this pretty thing ? " To which the blindfolded 
one replies by asking, " Is it fine or superfine ? " meaning, Does it 
belong to a boy (fine) or a girl (superfine) ? The answer is 
either " It is fine," or " It is superfine," and the blindfolded one 
then announces what its owner must do to get possession of it 
again. Of stock penances there are a great number, most of 
which are tricks which, once known, are necessarily very tame 
afterwards. In the case of those that follow, therefore, something 
definite and practical is required. 

Frown for a minute. 

Dance for a minute. 

See how many you can count in a minute. 

Say the alphabet backwards. 

Do the exact opposite of three things ordered by the company. 

Crow like a cock. 

Say " Gig whip " ten times very rapidly. 



36 What Shall We Do Now? 

Say " Mixed biscuits " ten times very rapidly. 

Say rapidly : " She stood on the steps of Burgess's Fish Sauce Shop 
selling shell fish." 

Say rapidly : " Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper. A peck of 
pickled pepper Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled 
pepper, where is the peck of pickled pepper Peter Piper picked ? " 

Count fifty backwards. 

Repeat a nursery rhyme. 

Hold your hands behind you, and, keeping them there, lie down and get 
up again. 

Hold your hands together and put them under your feet and over your 
head. 

Walk round the room balancing three books on your head without using 
your hands. 

Two forfeits may be redeemed at once by blindfolding two 
players, handing them each a glass of water, and bidding them 
give the other a drink. This, however, can be a very damp 
business. 

The old way of getting rid of a large number of forfeits was 
to tell their owners to hold a cats' concert, in which each sings a 
different song at the same time. Perhaps it would be less noisy 
and more interesting if they were told to personate a farm-yard. 



DRAWING GAMES 



DRAWING GAMES 



MANY persons, when a drawing game is suggested, ask to be 
excused on the ground of an inability to draw. But in none 
of the games that are described in this chapter is any real 
drawing power necessary. The object of each game being not 
to produce good drawings but to produce good fun, a bad drawing 
is much more likely to lead to laughter than a good one. 

All children who like drawing like this game ; but it is Five dots. 
particularly good to play with a real artist, if you have one among 
your friends. You take a piece of paper and make five dots 
on it, wherever you like — scattered about far apart, close together 
(but not too close), or even in a straight line. The other player's 
task is to fit in a drawing of a person with one of these dots at 
his head, two at his hands, and two at his feet, as in the examples 
on page 40. 

Another form of " Five Dots " is " Outlines." Instead of dots Outlines. 
a line, straight, zigzag, or curved, is made at random on the paper. 
Papers are then exchanged and this line must be fitted naturally 
into a picture, as in the examples on page 41. 

The usual thing to draw with shut eyes is a pig, but any Eyes-shut 
animal will do as well (or almost as well, for perhaps the pig's « rawm g s ' 
curly tail just puts him in the first place). Why it should be 



4o What Shall We Do Now? 




FIVE DOTS. 
Drawn by Gcoige Morrow. 



What Shall We Do Now? 



4i 




OUTLINES, 
Drawn by George Morrow. 



42 



What Shall We Do Now? 



so funny a game it is difficult quite to explain, but people laugh 
more loudly over it than over anything else. There is one lady 
at least who keeps a visitors' book in which every one that stays 
at her house has to draw an eyes-shut pig. The drawings are 
signed, and the date is added. 

While on the subject of novel albums the " Smudgeograph " 
might be mentioned. The smudgeograph is the effect produced 
by writing one's signature with plenty of ink, and while the ink 
is still very wet, folding the paper down the middle of the name, 
lengthwise, and pressing the two sides firmly together. The result 
is a curious symmetrically-shaped figure. Some people prefer 
smudgeographs to ordinary signatures in a visitors' book. 

Six drawing tricks are illustrated on this page. One (i) is 
the picture of a soldier and a dog leaving a room, drawn with 




M 



ZTA 




* sL 



h 



o 



*r. 



LO 



7~~ "X 



£ 




DRAWING TRICKS. 



three strokes of the pencil. Another (3) is a sailor, drawn with 
two squares, two circles, and two triangles. Another (5), Henry 
VI II., drawn with a square and nine straight lines. Another (6), 
invented by Mr. Morrow for this book, an Esquimaux waiting to 
harpoon a seal, drawn with eleven circles and a straight line. 
The remaining figures are a cheerful pig and a despondent pig 
(4), and a cat (2), drawn with the utmost possible simplicity. 



What Shall We Do Now? 



43 



In this game the first player writes the name of an animal at Composite 
the top of the paper and folds it over. The next writes another, ammals - 
and so on until you have four, or even five. You then unfold 
the papers and draw animals containing some feature of each of 
those named. 




THE "DILEMMA." 
Di'awn (in a game) by Miss S. M. Clayton. 



A variation of this game is for the players to draw and invented 
describe a new creature. On one occasion when this game was animals. 
played every one went for names to the commoner advertisements. 
The best animal produced was the Hairy Coco, the description 
of which stated, among other things, that it was fourteen feet 
long and had fourteen long feet. On another occasion the 
Dilemma, a picture of which is given on this page, was the best 
creature. 



44 



What Shall We Do Now? 



For this game sheets of paper are handed round and each 
player draws at the top of his sheet a head. It does not matter 
in the least whether it is a human being's or a fish's head, a quad- 
ruped's, a bird's, or an insect's. The paper is then turned down, 
two little marks are made to show where the neck and body should 
join, and the paper is passed on for the body to be supplied. 
Here again it does not matter what kind of body is chosen. 
The paper is then folded again, marks are made to show where 
the legs (or tail) ought to begin, and the paper is passed on 
again. After the legs are drawn the picture is finished. 

Each player sits, pencil in hand, before a blank sheet of paper, 
his object being to make a picture containing things chosen by 
the company in turn. The first player then names the thing that 
he wants in the picture. Perhaps it is a tree. He therefore says, 
" Draw a tree," when all the players, himself included, draw a tree. 
Perhaps the next says, " Draw a boy climbing the tree " ; the 
next, " Draw a balloon caught in the top branches " ; the next, 
" Draw two little girls looking up at the balloon " ; and so on, 
until the picture is full enough. The chief interest of this game 
resides in the difficulty of finding a place for everything that has 
to be put in the picture. A comparison of the drawings after- 
wards is usually amusing. 



Each player draws on the upper half of the paper an historical 
scene, whether from history proper or from family history, and 
appends the title, writing it along the bottom of the paper and 
folding it over. The drawings are then passed on and each 
player writes above the artist's fold (or on another sheet of paper) 
what he thinks they are meant to represent, and folds the paper 
over what he has written. In the accompanying example the 
title at the bottom of the paper is what the draughtsman himself 
wrote ; the others are the other players' guesses. 



What Shall We Do Now? 



45 




Various Descriptions by the Flayers 

The Abbot of Christchurch, near Bournemouth, surveys the scaffolding 
of the abbey. 

The end of the Paris Exhibition. 

An old man coming back to the home of his childhood, looks across the 
river, where a duck is swimming, to the dilapidated cathedral and town which 
represent the stately piles he remembered. 

The building of the Ark. 



The Artist's Description 



The Last Man surveying the ruins of the Crystal Palace. 



46 



What Shall We Do Now? 






M 
ys^ 



TKe mL and ^ e P u55 >^J^ wmt *L^ 






They JJ 



£311- 





R 



reens 




-■k 5 



ome r^fr ^..'Lr. 



plenty of 




c^ 



Wrapped up in a ^^ ^^ 



TKe^Lookedu P 2,tKe|%_abp y , 
And sang II a small 
O lovely m^-y O Q[-y my Cove 

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a i>eau-| 



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PICTURE - WRITING. 



What Shall We Do Now? 



47 






How ch-JV)-iRgly sweet "0 Mag 

o 




m I r^ied Ylong we have 
-ried 

They Qjed away /or a J- JJ) eW day 
the L-& where the Bono- ™W® grows 



&i there ~^ ! 




With a(^) at the end 0/ (lis /^ 
his c^ 

his Qp - 

With af^jat tne end 0/ (\is £2=p 



PICTURE-WRITING. 



48 What Shall We Do Now? 

Hiero- As a change from ordinary letter-writing, " Hieroglyphics " are 

glyphics, or am using and interesting to make. The best explanation is an 
wri r n example, such as is given on pp. 46 and 47, the subject being 

two verses from a favourite nursery song. 



WRITING GAMES 



WRITING GAMES 

Many of the games under this heading look harder than they 
really are. But the mere suggestion of a writing game is often 
enough to frighten away timid players who mistrust their powers 
of composition — although the result can be as funny when these 
powers are small as when they are considerable. The race is not 
always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. 

There are " Simple Acrostics " and " Double Acrostics." The Simple 
simple ones are very simple. When the players are all ready a word acrostics. 
is chosen by one of them, either from thought or by looking at a 
book and taking the first promising one that occurs. Perhaps it 
is " govern." Each player then puts the letters forming " govern " 
in a line down the paper, and the object of the game is to find, 
in a given time, words beginning with each of those letters. 
Thus, at the end of time, one player might have — 

G ravy 
O range 
V inolia 
E sther 
R obin 
N umbskull 

The players then describe their words in turn, one letter going 
the round before the next is reached, and from these descriptions 
the words have to be guessed, either by any player who likes or 
by the players in turn. The player whose paper we have quoted 



52 What Shall We Do Now? 

might describe his words like this : G — " Something that makes 
hot beef nice " ; O — " A fruit " ; V — " A kind of ointment " ; 
E — " A girl's name " ; R — " A bird " ; and N — " A name for a 
silly person." If any one else has the same word neither of you 
can score it, and it is therefore important to seek for the most 
unlikely words. 

Another way of playing " Simple Acrostics " is to insist on 
each word being the same length. Thus " govern " might be filled 
in by one player thus : — 

G rave 

O ddly 

V erse 

E arth 

R ebel 

N inth 

Double In " Double Acrostics " the game is played in precisely the same 

acrostics. wa y ) except that the letters of the word, after having been arranged 

in a line down the paper, are then arranged again in a line up 

the paper, so that the first letter is opposite the last, and the last 

opposite the first. Thus : — 



G 


N 


O 


R 


V 


E 


E 


V 


R 


O 


N 


G 



The players have then to fill in words beginning and ending 
with the letters as thus arranged. One paper might come out 
thus : — 

G rai N 

O rde R 

V ersatil E 

E V 

R apall O 

N othin G 



What Shall We Do Now? 53 

This word is rather a hard one on account of the E and V. As a 
rule, words of only three letters are not allowed in "Acrostics," nor are 
plurals. That is to say, if the word has to end in " S," one must 
not simply add " S " to an ordinary word, such as " grooms " for 
G — S, but find a word ending naturally in " S," such as " Genesis." 
It is not necessary to invert the same word in order to get 
letters for the ends of the words. Two words of equal length can 
be chosen and arranged side by side. Thus (but this is almost 
too difficult an example) : — 



D 


K 


I 


I 


C 


P 


K 


L 


E 


I 


N 


N 


S 


G 



" Acrostics " may be made more difficult and interesting by 
giving them a distinct character. Thus, it may be decided that 
all the words that are filled in must be geographical, or literary, or 
relating to flowers. 

" Fives " is a game which is a test also of one's store of informa- Fives. 
tion. A letter is chosen, say T, and for a given time, ten 
minutes perhaps, the players write down as many names of 
animals beginning with T as they can think of. The first player 
then reads his list, marking those words that no one else has and 
crossing off all that are also on other players' papers. Then the 
names of vegetables (including flowers, trees, and fruit) are 
taken ; then minerals ; then persons ; and then places. The 
player w T ho has most marks wins the game. 

A variety of this game is to take a long word, say " extra- 
ordinary," and within a given time to see how many smaller 
words can be made from it, such as tax, tin, Tay, tea, tear, tare 
tray, din, dray, dairy, Dora, road, rat, raid, and so on. 



54 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Lists. " Lists " is a variety of " Fives." Paper is provided, and each 

player in turn calls out something which the whole company write 
down. Thus, suppose there are five players and you decide to 
go round three times : the first may say a river ; the second, a 
doctor ; the third, a complaint ; the fourth, a play ; the fifth, a 
street in London ; the first again, a musical instrument ; the 
second again, a cricketer ; and so on, until the fifteen things are 
all written down. Each paper will then have the same list of 
fifteen things upon it. One of the company then opens a book 
at random, and chooses, say, the first letter of the third word in 
the first line. Perhaps it is T. For a given time each player 
has to supply his list with answers beginning with T. At the 
call of time one of the papers may present this appearance : — 



A river 

A doctor 

A complaint 

A play 

A street in London 

A musical instrument 

A cricketer . 

A flower 

A mineral . 

A lake 

A tree . ! 

A state in America 

An author . 

An artist 

A preacher . 



Tees 

Mr. Treves 

Tic Doloreux 

Timon of Athens 

Theobald's Road 

Trombone 

Tate 

Trefoil 

Tin 

Tanganyika 

Tulip 

Texas 

Trollope 

Tadema 

Talmage 



Each player in turn reads his list aloud, strikes off those words 
that others also have, and puts a mark against the rest. The 
specimen list here given is too simple to be called a good one. 
Players should reject the first thing that comes into their 
thoughts, in favour of something- less natural. 



Buried 
names. 



The first thing for the players to do is to decide what kind 
of name they will bury. The best way is to call out something 



What Shall We Do Now? 55 

in turn. Thus, if there are four players they may decide to 
bury the name of an author, a girl, a town, and a river. Each 
player writes these down and a fixed time is given for burial, 
which consists in writing a sentence that shall contain the name 
somewhere spelt rightly but spread over two words, or three if 
possible. At the end of the time the sentences are read aloud in 
turn, while the others guess. Of course, the whole game may be 
given up to burying only one kind of name, but variety is 
perhaps better. Examples are given : — 

An author : I like to keep the yew hi gooo\ order. 

A girl : The boy was cruel, lazy, and obstinate. 

A town : Clothes that are new have no need of brushing. 

A river : To see spoil/ ham specially annoys me. 

It is permissible to bury the name in the middle of one 
longer word, but it is better to spread it over two or three. 
Perhaps the best example of a buried English town is this : 
" The Queen of Sheba sings to keep her spirits up." This is 
good, because the sentence is natural, because of the unusual 
number of words that are made use of in the burial, and because 
in reading it aloud the sound of the buried town is not suggested. 

In this game you begin with the Letter. The first thing to Letters and 

write is the address and " My dear ," choosing whomever you telegrams. 

like, but usually, as in " Consequences," either a public person or 
some one known, if possible, to every one present. The paper 
is then folded over and passed on. The next thing to write is the 
letter itself, which should be limited to two minutes or some short 
period, and should be the kind of letter that requires a reply. The 
paper is folded and passed on again, and the subscription, " Believe 
me yours sincerely," or whatever adverb you choose, and the signa- 
ture are then added. (These may be divided into two separate 
writings if you like.) The signature should be that of another 
public person, or friend, relation or acquaintance of the family. 
The paper is then passed on once more, and a reply to the letter, 



56 What Shall We Do Now? 

in the form of a sixpenny telegram, is written. That is to say, 
you must say as much as you can in twelve words. (Address 
and signature not necessary.) Example : — 

The Letter 

The first player writes : — My dear Buffalo Bill. 

The second player writes: — Can you give me any information about 
suitable songs for our village waits ? 

The third player writes : — Believe me yours slavishly. 
The fourth player writes : — Kitchener of Khartoum. 

The Reply Telegram 

The fifth player writes : — Be with you to-morrow. Have sheets aired. 
Am bringing everything. Don't worry. 



Telegrams. There is also the game of " Telegrams." In this the first thing 

to write is the name of the person sending the telegram. The 
paper is then passed on, and the name of the person to whom it 
is sent is written. The papers are then passed on again and 
opened, and the players in turn each say a letter of the 
alphabet, chosen at random, until there are twelve. As these are 
spoken, each player writes them on the paper before him, leaving 
a space after it ; so that when the twelve are all written down 
his paper may look like this : — 

From the Duke OF YORK 

To Barnum and Bailey. 



H 


.. A.... 


.. P.... 


.. N 


W 


... E.... 


.. K.... 


,.. S 


T 


.. A.... 


.. F.... 


.. c 



A period of five minutes or more is then allowed in which to 
complete the telegram, the message having to be twelve words 
long, and each word to begin, in the same order, with these letters. 
The players should, as far as possible, make the telegrams reason- 
able, if not possible. Thus, the form given above might, when 
finished, read like this : — 



What Shall We Do Now? 57 

From the Duke of York 

To Barnum and Bailey. 

Have Awning Prepared Next 

Wednesday Evening Kindly Send 
Tickets All Family Coming 

In calling out the twelve letters which are to be used in the 
telegram, it is well to avoid the unusual consonants and to have 
a vowel here and there. 

An amusing variety is for all the players to compose telegrams 
on the same subject ; the subject being given beforehand. Thus 
it might be decided that all the telegrams should be sent from 
Prince Ranjitsinhji to Mrs. Gamp inquiring her views as to the 
leg-before-wicket question in cricket. Then having completed 
these messages, the answers may also be prepared, using the same 
letters. But, of course, as in all games, family matters work out 
more amusingly than public ones. 

Paper is handed round, and each player thinks of some public Initials. 
person, or friend or acquaintance of the company, and writes in 
full his or her Christian name (or names) and surname. Then, 
for, say, five minutes, a character sketch of the person chosen has 
to be composed, each word of which begins with the initial letter 
of each of the person's names, repeated in their right order until 
the supply of thought gives out or time is up. Thus, suppose 
the person chosen is Frank Richard Stockton, the American 
story writer. The character sketch might run : — 

F ancifully R ecounts S trange F reakish R omantic S tories. F inds 
R isibility S urely. F requently R aises S miles. 

An occasional "and" and "of" may be dropped in if necessary. 
Where one of the names begins with a vowel (such as William iiwart 
Gladstone) the character sketch can be made to run more easily. 

It is sometimes more amusing to give every one the same 
names to work on ; and in some houses the players are not 
allowed to choose names for themselves, but must pass the paper 



58 



What Shall We Do Now? 



•on. The characters of towns and nations may be written in the 
same way, using all the letters of the word as the initials. 



Riddles. 



Rhymed 
replies. 



Conse- 
quences. 



A more difficult game is " Riddles." At the top of the paper is 
written anything that you can think of: " A' soldier," "A new 
dress," " A fit of the blues," " A railway accident " — anything that 
suggests itself. The paper is passed on and anything else is written, 
no matter what. It is passed on again and opened. Suppose that 
the two things written on it are, first, " A Member of Parliament," 
and second, " A pair of skates." The duty of the player is to 
treat them as a riddle, and, asking the question either as " Why is 
a member of Parliament like a pair of skates ? " or " What is the 
difference between a member of Parliament and a pair of skates ? " 
(whichever way one prefers), to supply a reasonable answer. This 
game, it will be seen, is suited particularly to clever people. 

This is a game that needs a certain amount of readiness and 
some skill with words. Each of the party writes at the top of a 
piece of paper a question of any kind whatever, such as " How 
old was Csesar when he died ? " or " What is your favourite- 
colour ? " The paper is folded over and passed on, and the next 
player writes a word — any word — such as " electricity," " potato," 
" courageously," " milk." The papers are then passed on once 
more and opened, and the task of each player is to write a rhyme 
in which the question on his paper is answered and the word on 
his paper is introduced. 

" Consequences " is always a favourite game when a party 
has reached its frivolous mood. The method of playing is this : 
Sheets of paper and pencils are handed round, and every one 
writes at the head (i) an adjective suitable to be applied to a 
man, such as " Handsome." This word is then folded over 
so that it cannot be read, and each paper is passed on to the 
next person. The name of a man (2) is then written, either some 



What Shall We Do Now? 59 

one you know, such as Uncle Frank, or a public person, such as 
the vicar or Mr. Maskelyne. This in turn is folded over and the 
papers are passed on. The word " met " is understood to be 
inserted at this point. That is to say, the completed story will 
tell how Handsome Uncle Frank met some one. The next thing 
(3) is to put down an adjective suitable to apply to the woman 
whom he met, such as " Buxom," and then (4) the woman's name, 
again either some one you know, such as Cousin Susan, or a 
public person, such as Mother Seigel — the papers being folded and 
passed on after every writing. The remaining items are these : — 
(5) The place where they met — say, on the pier. (6) What he 
said to her — say, " I hope your neuralgia is better." (7) What 
she said to him — say, " There's nothing like rain for the crops." 

(8) What the consequence was — say, "They were married." 

(9) What the world said — " All's well that ends well." 

It must be remembered that unless there are very few players, 
when it is less fun, you do not get the chance of writing more 
than once, or at most twice, on the same sheet of paper, so that it 
is of no use to have a reasonable series of remarks in your mind. 
The specimen given above is an average one. In print nothing 
could be much less funny, but when the company has the spirit 
of " Consequences," even so tame a story as this might keep the 
room merry. The game is always full of the unexpected, and 
the people who meet each other are almost sure to be laughing- 
stocks. The results are often better if all the papers are handed 
to one player to read. 



The form of " Consequences " above given is the ordinary one Consequences 
and the simplest. But in certain families the game has been extended. 
altered and improved by other clauses. We give the fullest form 
of " Consequences " with which we are acquainted. As it stands it 
is rather too long ; but players may like to add to the fun of 
the ordinary game by adopting a few of these additions : — 



60 What Shall We Do Now? 

Adjective for a man. 
The man. 

What he was wearing. 
What he was doing. 

(Met) 
Adjective for a woman. 
The woman. 
What she was wearing. 
What she was doing. 

The person he would much rather have met. 
Where they met. 
What he thought. 
What he said. 
What she thought. 
What she said. 
Where they went. 
What they did. 
What the consequence was. 
What the world said. 

Example : — 

The illustrious Lord George Sanger, who was dressed in a Moire antique 
bath-towel and was eating walnuts, met coy Aunt Priscilla in a Khaki tea-gown 
playing with her Noah's Ark, when he would much rather have met Madame 
Tussaud. They met at Littlehampton. What he thought was, " Here's this 
woman again," but he merely said, "That's a very chic costume of yours." 
What she thought was, " I wonder if he's read H err Baby" but she only said, 
"That's wet paint you're leaning against." So they went to prison together 
and learned to ride the bicycle, and the consequence was they caught influenza, 
and the world said, " It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good." 

Composite Another folding-over and passing-on game is " Composite 

stones. Stories." Paper is passed round, and for five minutes each player 

writes the opening of a story with a title prefixed. The papers 
are passed on, and each player reads through as much of the 
story as has been written and for five minutes adds to it. And 
so on, until each player has written once on each paper. The 
papers are then passed on once more, with the result that each 
paper will be found to be lying before the player who began it. 
The next and last five minutes are then spent by each person 



What Shall We Do Now? 61 

in reading through the story and bringing it to an end, sometimes 
a difficult enough task. If six persons are playing and allow- 
ances of five minutes have been given, there will be at the end 
of thirty-five minutes six complete stories to read aloud. 

A variety of the story game is for each player to write the Another 
name of a well-known person or friend of the family on the top stor y game. 
of the paper, fold it over, and pass it on. This happens, say, 
five times, which means that when the papers are opened the 
names of five persons will be found on each. A story has then 
to be written introducing these people. 

Another story game is one in which each player attempts to Improbable 
tell the most improbable or impossible story. In this case the stories. 
papers are not passed on, but a certain amount of time is given 
for the stories to be written in. 

This is a rather elaborate but really very easy game to play. The 
One player, who acts as editor, takes as many sheets of paper newspaper. 
as there are players and writes at the head of each the title of a 
section of a newspaper. Thus on one he will write, Paris 
Correspondence ; on another, American Correspondence ; on 
another, Berlin Correspondence ; on a fourth, Court Circular ; on 
a fifth, Our Fashion Page ; on a sixth, Reviews ; on a seventh, 
Weather Report ; and so on. Each player then, for a given 
time, writes on the subject allotted to him, more or less in the 
manner of the daily press, and at the end the result is read aloud 
by the editor. 

The plan is easily adapted to family or village life. The 
heading may refer to domestic matters, such as Nursery Corre- 
spondence, Kitchen Gossip, Fashions for Gentlemen (an account 
of father's new suit), Garden News, Village Chatter, and so on. 
Or, instead of a newspaper, a popular magazine may be contri- 
buted, with illustrations. 



62 What Shall We Do Now? 

Paper Mr. Algernon Locker, in a little cricket book called Willow and 

cricket. Leather, gives the following description of a novel game : — " Even 

paper cricket has its attractions. In the long winter evenings, 
when one ought to have been doing one's lessons, how pleasant it 
was to prepare with a friend for a tremendous match. The sides 
were chosen — England v. Australia, or Gentlemen v. Players, — 
and the next thing was to make the wheel of fortune. This was 
a disc of paper divided into compartments, each of which was 
marked with some possible event, such as ' bowled,' ' caught,' 
'run out,' ' leg -bye,' 'wide,' ' no -ball,' 'one,' 'two,' 'three,' 
' four.' The centre of the disc was transfixed with a pin. It 
was spun round as each ball was supposed to be bowled, and then 
pen or pencil (a pencil for choice, for the pen made so many blots 
that the legends on the compartments were soon blurred, and one 
might mistake ' leg-bye ' for ' run out ' or some such enormity) 
was dabbed down as it spun, and the result entered in the score." 



TABLE AND CARD GAMES 



TABLE AND CARD GAMES 

Card games proper, such as Bezique and Cribbage and Whist, Card games 
do not come into the scope of this book. Nor do games such ancl ot ' iers - 
as Chess, Draughts, Halma and Backgammon. It is not that 
they are not good games, but that, having to be bought, their 
rules do not need enumerating again. And there are other 
bought games, such as Reversi and Spillikins and Schimmel (or 
Bell and Hammer), and Tiddledywinks and Bagatelle and 
Squails — perhaps the best table game of all — -about the playing 
of which nothing is said here. There is also a new game called, 
not too happily, Ping-Pong, which is lawn tennis for the dining- 
room. For those playing it is good fun, but for those not playing 
it can quickly become a species of torture. The description of a 
few very old and favourite games with cards, and one or two new 
ones, is, however, given, because they can be made at home. 

On page 137 will be found the simplest letter game. Letters Letter 
can be used for a round game by one player making a wox6.,S ames - 
shuffling it, and throwing it face upwards into the middle of 
the table. The winner is the player who first sees what it spells. 

Distribute a box of letters among the players, dealing them 
face downwards. In turn each player takes up a letter at random 
and puts it face upwards in the middle of the table. The object 
of the game is to make words out of these letters. Directly a 
player sees a word he calls it out, and taking the letters places 
them in front of him, where they remain until the end of the 

F 



66 



What Shall We Do Now? 



game, when each player counts his words and the owner of the 
greatest number is the winner. If, however, a word has been 
chosen which, by the addition of another letter or so from the 
middle of the table, can be transformed into a longer word, the 
player who thinks of this longer word takes the shorter word 
from the other player and places it before himself. Thus, A 
might see the word " seat " among the letters, and calling, it out, 
place it before him ; and then B, noticing another " t," might 
call out " state," and adding it to A's word, take that to himself. 
If, however, A then detected an " e " in the middle and called 
out " estate " the word would be his again. These losses and 
reconquests form the chief fun of the game. An " s : ' at the end 
of a word, forming a plural, is not allowed. 



Patience^ or 
tJiirtee7is. 



Many games of "Patience" can be played as well with numbered 
cards as with ordinary playing cards. It does not matter much 
what size they are, but for convenience, in playing on a small 
table, they may as well be about an inch wide and two inches 
long, with the number at the top. Thus : — 




A " Patience " set consists of four packs of cards each containing 
four sets of thirteen cards numbered from I to 13. These can 



What Shall We Do Now? 67 

be made at home perfectly well, and a little bag to hold each 
pack should also be made. The simplest game is to arrange 
the four sets in their right order. One player empties her four 
bags into a basket, shakes them up, and calls them out as she 
picks them out (at random). The others, who have the cards 
spread before them, then arrange them in four rows as well as 
may be, until a I is called and there is a chance to begin packing 
the others upon it. With inexperienced players five rows are 
sometimes allowed. We do not give other games of " Patience," 
for two reasons. One is that it is not exactly a children's game, 
and the other, that it is one of the games which can be properly 
taught only by personal instruction. Varieties of " Patience " are 
very numerous, and good books can be had on the subject. 

The game of " Families " can be bought in many varieties. Families. 
Its original form is probably that most nearly answering to its 
name, in which the object of each player is to complete the 
family of " Mr. Butcher " or " Mr. Baker " or " Mr. Shoemaker." 
In other forms the cards bear the names of counties, and you 
have to collect four or five towns in each ; or you must bring 
together the words of familiar proverbs, or four or five books of 
well-known authors. 

It matters very little what has to be asked, the fun of the 
thing lying in succeeding in your requests. This being so, 
" Families " is a game in which it is as satisfactory to use 
home-made cards as bought ones. 

There can be no real need to describe " Snap," but perhaps Snap. 
it may be useful to have the rules in print here in case of any 
dispute. A pack of "Snap" cards is dealt round, any number being 
able to play ; and the game begins by the players taking their 
cards one by one from their hands and in turn laying them face 
upwards on the table before them. If a card is turned up similar 
to a card already on view on the table, the player who turns it 
up or the player who owns the similar card cries " Snap," and 



68 What Shall We Do Now? 

the cards go to the player who says " Snap " first. As it is 
sometimes difficult for the players to distinguish which says 
" Snap " first, it is well to have an umpire. In the case of an 
undoubted dead-heat the game should go on as if nothing had 
happened. The player who won the cards gathers up also into 
his hand all the cards which were before him and continues the 
game. When a player has transferred all his cards from his hand 
to the table he waits until his turn comes and then takes them 
into his hand again. This is a very exciting moment, because, 
if his top card were snapped, then he would lose everything. 

In good " Snap " packs there are several sets of cards which are 
intentionally made nearly but not absolutely alike, and it is very 
common to say " Snap " by mistake when one of these turns up. 
In that case the cards of the player who cried " Snap " are placed 
in the middle of the table, where they stay until some one turns 
up a card exactly like the top one and "Snap Centre" is called, 
when both the centre pack and the pack in front of the turner- 
up belong to the player who cried " Snap Centre." It may of 
course be the turner-up himself, but is very likely somebody else, 
because whereas under ordinary conditions only the owners of 
similar cards may cry " Snap," when there are cards in the middle 
too any one may cry " Snap Centre." (In some houses any one may 
cry " Snap " all through the game, but that is not the best way.) 

When a player has lost all his cards he is out of the game 
until there are cards in the middle again, when an opportunity 
comes of snap-centring them and getting into play again. The 
game goes on until one player has all the cards. 

Grab. In " Grab," a very rowdy variety of " Snap," a cork is placed 

in the middle of the table. The rules are the same as in " Snap," 
except that, instead of saying " Snap," you snatch for the cork ; 
in the case of " Snap Centre," snatching and saying " Centre " too. 

Snap cards. « Snap " cards may just as well be home-made as bought. 

They either can be painted, in which case you must be careful 



What Shall We Do Now? 69 

that the sets of four articles are just alike, or you can cut out 
shapes of different coloured paper and stick them on. A bundle 
of wall-paper patterns is splendid material for a pack. The only 
advantage that bought " Snap " cards have over home-made ones 
is that they slip better. 

This game can be played by any number, either with a home- Old main. 
made pack or with ordinary playing cards from which three of 
the queens have been taken away ; the remaining queen being 
the old maid. The cards are then dealt and each player first 
weeds out all pairs, such as two knaves, two aces, two fives, and so 
on. All having done this, the player who begins offers her hand, 
with the cards face downwards, to her neighbour, and her neigh- 
bour takes one. She then looks through her cards to see if it 
pairs with any that she already has, and, if it does, throws the 
pair on the table. Having finished her examination she offers 
her cards in the same way to the next player, and so it goes on. 
As the possessor of the old maid card is, at the end, the loser of 
the game, each one who gets it does all in her power to induce 
the next player to take it. As the cards get fewer and fewer the 
excitement grows and grows. 

" Old Bachelor " is played in the same way, except that three 
of the kings are then thrown out. 

" Pig " is a very noisy game. It is played with ordinary cards, Pig. 
unless you like to make a " Pig " set, which would be very easy. 
Having discovered how many persons want to play, you treat the 
pack accordingly. For instance, if five want to play you throw 
out all cards except five sets of four ; if six, or three, you throw 
out all cards except six sets of four or three sets of four. Thus, 
if five were playing, the cards might consist of four aces, four 
twos, four threes, four fours, and four fives ; or, if you began at 
the other end, four kings, four queens, four knaves, four tens, and 
four nines. The cards are shuffled and dealt round, four each, 



70 What Shall We Do Now? 

and the game is for each player to complete a set of four. 
You do not, as in " Old Maid," select one from the cards that are 
offered, face downwards, but each player hands whatever card he 
likes to the next player, who is bound to accept it. Directly 
a player has a set of four complete he lays the cards on the 
table, either very stealthily or with a bang, whichever he likes. 
Immediately a set is laid on the table (or directly the other 
players notice it) all other cards have to be laid there too. The 
player who is last in laying them down is Pig. The game is 
played for as many rounds as you like, the player who was last 
the fewest times being the winner. The word Pig alters with 
each round. The last player to lay down his cards in the second 
round is not merely Pig but Little Pig ; in the third, Big Pig ; 
in the fourth, Mother (or Father) Pig ; in the fifth, Grandmother 
(or Grandfather) Pig ; in the sixth, Ancestral Pig ; in the seventh, 
Venerable Pig ; in the eighth, Primeval Pig ; in the ninth, 
Crackling. 

The old This game is utterly foolish, but it can lead to shouts of 

maid's laughter. It has been founded on an old-fashioned card game 

ay ' called " Mr. Punch." The first thing required is a pack of plain 
cards on which should 1 be written the names of articles of food 
and clothing, household utensils, and other domestic and much 
advertised things : such, for example, as a frock-coat, a round of 
beef, a foot-warmer, a box of pills. A story, somewhat on the 
lines of that which follows, must then be prepared and copied 
into a note-book. The company take their places and the cards 
are handed round. These should be held face downwards. 
When all is ready one of the players reads the story, pausing 
at each blank for the player whose turn comes next to fill it in by 
calling out whatever is on his uppermost card. No matter how 
often the game is played (provided the cards are re-shuffied) the 
unexpected always happens, and it is usually so absurd as to be 
quite too much for a room all ready for laughter. The number 



What Shall We Do Now? 71 

of blanks in the story should be equal to the number of cards, 
and in order that the story may run on smoothly it is well for 
the next player always to glance at his top card just before his 
turn, so as to bring it out readily and naturally. The following 
story, which makes provision for nearly fifty cards, should be 
found serviceable until a better and more personal one is written. 
It will add to the amusement if the player who reads it substitutes 
the names of real shops and, if he likes, real people : — 

Attention. It was Miss Flitters's birthday, and she woke with a start and 
hurried down to see what the postman had brought. There were five parcels 
and a letter. The letter was from Miss Bitters. " Dear Miss Flitters," it 
ran, " I am so sorry to hear of your cold, and in the hope that it will do you 

good, I am sending you a . I always find it excellent, although Mother 

prefers . We both wish you many happy returns of the day." The 

other presents were, from Miss Ditters a handsome , from Miss Glitters 

a delicate , and from Miss Hitters a particularly refined . " Dear 

me!" said Miss Flitters, "what a useful gift! just exactly what I wanted." 
She then sat down to breakfast, which, this being a special day, consisted of 

. " I did my best to do it to a turn," said the cook, as she laid it on 

the table with her own hands. " Mary said as how you'd prefer a , 

but, bless your 'eart, Miss Flitters, I know your tastes best." "You do, 
indeed," said Miss Flitters. " The thing is perfectly cooked. It's delicious. 

It reminds me of . To-day," she added, " I am giving a party, and I 

want you to let us have a very charming meal. I will get the things directly 
after breakfast. What do you think we shall need ? " " Well, ma'am," said 
the cook, "you may please yourself about everything else, but we've done 

without a for so long, that I must have one." " Quite right," said her 

mistress. 

She then prepared for going out ; and seeing that it looked like rain, took 

a from the cupboard and on her head tied a . " Bless your 'eart, 

mum," cried the cook, " you've forgot your smelling salts. Suppose you was 
to feel faint — what then ? Never mind," she added, " this'll do just as well " — 

handing her a . Miss Flitters hurried off at such a pace that she ran 

right into the vicar. " I beg your pardon," she exclaimed, " I mistook you 

for a ." " May I come with you ?" asked the vicar. " Most certainly," 

said Miss Flitters. 

They went first to Buszard's for a , and selected two particularly juicy 

ones. Then to Marshall and Snelgrove's for a . "Is this for the com- 
plexion ? " asked the vicar, picking up a from the counter. " La, sir," 

said Miss Flitters, " how little you know of domestic life ! " Then they went 



72 What Shall We Do Now? 

to Fuller's for a , and to Jay's for a . " It's too dear," said Miss 

Flitters. " Give me a instead." At the stores they inspected . 

" Haven't you anything fresher?" asked Miss Flitters: "I'd as soon buy a 

." None the less she bought two and slipped them into her reticule, 

adding as a little gift for the cook a . 

The party began at six o'clock. The first to come was Miss Kitters. "You 
don't mind my bringing my work, I know, dear," she exclaimed ; " I'm em- 
broidering a for the natives of Madagascar, and it must be done soon." Miss 

Litters came next, and being rather short-sighted, sat down on a . " Never 

mind," said Miss Flitters. " Oh, I don't," she replied, "but it would have been 

more comfortable if it had been a -." Miss Mitters came just as the clock 

struck. She was wearing a charming trimmed with ■ . " What per- 
fect taste she has ! " the others murmured. Miss Nitters followed. Miss 
Nitters was the exact opposite of Miss Mitters in all matters relating to dress. 

She had no taste at all, and was wearing merely a with pompons attached, 

and in place of earrings a couple of . " So fast ! " whispered Miss 

Litters. Miss Pitters, Miss Ritters, and Miss Titters each brought a present. 

Miss Pitters's present was a silver-plated . " So useful for the toilet table," 

she said. Miss Ritters's was a Japanese , a piece of exquisite workman- 
ship ; while Miss Titters produced from her pocket a brown paper parcel 

which turned out to contain a very choice , an heirloom in the Titters 

family for centuries. " I didn't know whether to bring this or a ," she 

said ; "but Father decided me. Father always knows best." 

When all were assembled, the guests sat down to supper. But here an 
awkward thing happened. " If you please, mum," the cook was heard to 

whisper in a loud voice, " the hasn't come. Shall I get a instead ? " 

" Yes," said Miss Flitters, '■' that will do very well. Don't you think so, Miss 

Pitters?" "I think," was the reply, "I should prefer ." It was none 

the less an excellent and generous repast. Opposite Miss Flitters was a 

noble , flanked by a and a . At the foot of the table was a 

dish of . "I never tasted anything so delicious in my life," said Miss 

Mitters, taking a large helping of . "Oh!" said Miss Glitters, "you 

should try the . It's yumps." The first course was followed by sweets, 

the most imposing of which was a wonderful frosted with Miss Flitters's 

name in pink sugar. " You must all have a piece," said the hostess, " but I'm 
afraid it's rather rich." 

After supper came games, " Blind Man's Buff" and " Hunt the Slipper," 

but as no one cared to lend a slipper, they used instead a , and it did very 

well. At midnight the party broke up, the guests saying that they never had 
spent a pleasanter evening. As a protection against the cold Miss Flitters 

gave them each a hot . She then hurried to bed and dreamed all night 

of . 



THINKING, GUESSING, AND ACTING 

GAMES 



THINKING, GUESSING, AND ACTING 

GAMES 



The players sit in a long row, as if in class at school. The The ship 
one that acts as schoolmaster asks sharply, beginning at one alphabet. 
end, " The name of the letter ? " " A," says the player. The 
schoolmaster turns to the next player, " The name of the ship ? " 
and straightway begins to count ten very quickly and sternly. 
" Andromeda," is perhaps rapped out before he reaches that 
number. " The name of the captain ? " " Alfred." " The name 
of the cargo ? " " Armour." " The port she comes from ? " 
" Amsterdam." " The place she is bound for ? " " Antananarivo." 
" The next letter ? " " B," and so on. If the schoolmaster is very 
strict and abrupt with his questions and counting, he can drive 
every idea from the mind of the person he points at. If he 
counts ten before an answer comes, he passes on to the next, and 
the next, and the next, until the answer is given. The one who 
gives it moves up above those that failed. The game should be 
played rapidly. 

This is not played now as once it was. In the old way the / love my 
players sat in a line and went steadily through the alphabet, each love. 
one taking a letter in order. This was the form : — " I love my 
love with an A, because he is [a favourable adjective beginning 
with A]. I hate him with an A because he is [an unfavour- 



7 6 



What Shall We Do Now? 



able adjective beginning with A]. He took me to the sign of 
the [an inn sign beginning with A], and treated me to [two 
eatables or an eatable and drinkable beginning with A]. His 
name is [a man's name beginning with A], and he comes from [a 
town or country beginning with A]." Then B, and so on. 
A and B might run thus : — 

I love my love with an A because he is adorable. I hate him with an A 
because he is apish. He took me to the sign of the Alderman and treated me 
to arrowroot and ale. His name is Arnold, and he comes from Ayrshire. 

I love my love with a B because he is brisk. I hate him with a B 
because he is bookish. He took me to the sign of the Beetle and treated me 
to biscuits and bovril. His name is Brian, and he comes from Bahia Blanca. 

There is no reason why men should always be chosen. For 
the sake of variety the love may as well have a woman's name and 
a woman's qualities. In that case the inn might perhaps go and 
some such sentence as this take its place : — 

I love my love with an A because she is amiable. I hate her with an A 
because she is awesome. We went to Uncle Alexander's, and had apricots 
and Apollinaris. Her name is Audrey, and she comes from Archangel. 

As finding seven words beginning with one letter is rather a 
heavy task for each player, the words might be taken in turn, as 
in the case of the " Ship " game mentioned above. 

For a shorter way of playing " I Love my Love " the following 
form is used : — " I love my love with an A because he — or she — 
is [favourable adjective]. I will send him — or her — to [some 
place] and feed him — or her — on [something to eat]. I will give 
him — or her — an [some article, the use for which must be 
mentioned after it], and a bunch of [some flower] for a nosegay." 
Thus : — 

I love my love with an A because he is artistic. I will send him to 
America, and feed him on asparagus. I will give him an alpenstock to climb 
with, and a bunch of asters for a nosegay. 

My thought. The players sit in a row or circle, and one, having thought of 



What Shall We Do Now? 77 

something — of any description whatever — asks them in turn, 
" What is my thought like ? " Not having the faintest idea what 
the thought is they reply at random. One may say, " Like a 
dog " , another, " Like a saucepan " ; a third, " Like a wet day " ; a 
fourth, ,( Like a pantomime." After collecting all the answers the 
player announces what the thought was, and then goes along the 
row again calling upon the players to explain why it is like the 
thing named by them. The merit of the game lies in these 
explanations. Thus, perhaps the thing thought of was a 
concertina. The first player, asked to show why a concertina is 
like a dog, may reply, " Because when it is squeezed it howls." 
The next may say, " It is like a heavy saucepan because it is held 
in both hands." The third, " It is like a wet day because one 
soon has enough of it " ; and the fourth, " It is like a pantomime 
because it is full of tunes." 

Another old game of this kind is " P's and Q's." The players P's and q's. 
sit in a circle and one stands up and asks them each a question 
in turn. The question takes this form, " The King of England 
[or France, or Germany, or Africa, or Russia, or India, whatever 
country it may be] has gone forth with all his men. Tell me 
where he has gone, but mind your P's and Q's." The player who 
is addressed must then reply, naming, in whatever country is 
mentioned, some town that does not begin with P or Q or with 
any letter before P in the alphabet. Thus, if the question refers 
to England, he may say " Salisbury " but not " Bristol," " Redruth " 
but not " Oxford " ; or to France, " Toulon " but not " Lyons," 
" Versailles " but not " Dieppe." 

The game is capable of improvement or, at least, of variety. 
For instance, instead of P's and Q's, the questioner may say, 
" Mind your K's and L's," or instead of ruling out all letters 
before P, all letters after Q may be stopped. And one need not 
confine the game to geography, but may adapt it to include 
animals, or eatables, or books. 



78 What Shall We Do Now? 

The The players sit in a circle, and the game is begun by one of 

them throwing a rolled-up handkerchief to another and at the 
same time calling out the name of one of the four elements — 
air, water, earth, or fire. If " Air " is called, the player to whom 
the handkerchief is thrown must at once mention some creature 
that flies. Having done so she throws the handkerchief to some 
one else, calling perhaps " Earth," whereupon that player must 
mention an animal that inhabits the earth. And so on. The 
same animal must not be mentioned twice, and when " Fire " is 
called, the player to whom the handkerchief is thrown must keep 
silence until she throws it on again. Sometimes each player, after 
throwing the handkerchief and calling the element, counts ten as 
the limit of time in which the answer must be given. If it is 
longer in coming, or if something is mentioned which has been 
mentioned before, then a forfeit follows. 

Suggestio?is. This is a game which people either dislike or like very much. 

The players sit round the fire or table, and one of them begins 
by naming an article of any kind whatever, such as watering-pot. 
The word " watering-pot " will immediately suggest something to 
the next player — say " gardener." He therefore says " gardener." 
The next is perhaps reminded by the word " gardener " of a 
bunch of violets she saw the gardener carrying that morning, and 
she therefore says " violets " ; the next at once recollects findi ng 
violets when she was at Ventnor last spring, and she therefore 
says "Ventnor." Thus the game goes on for, say, ten rounds, 
by which time, as we have seen already, the minds of the players 
have been carried miles away from the original watering-pot 
which set them at work. It is now necessary to trace the series 
of suggestions back to watering-pot again. This is done by the 
last player mentioning, not the last thing that he thought of, but 
the thing which suggested that to him. (Thus, the player next 
him may have said, in the last round, " treacle-posset," which may 
have suggested to him " Mrs. Squeers." He would not, however, 



What Shall We Do Now? 79 

when the task of retracing begins, say " Mrs. Squeers," because 
to repeat your own words is too easy, but " treacle-posset," and 
the next player, going backwards, in his turn would repeat the 
word which suggested " treacle-posset " to him.) The second 
part of the game, retracing the suggestions, is naturally more 
difficult than the first. 

In this game two things are very important. One is, that 
silence should be maintained ; the other, that the word you give 
should be suggested to you only by the previous player's remark. 
Also it is more fun to be quite honest about it, and really say 
what was first suggested, instead of making a choice. 

This is a game which requires some poetical knowledge. Quotation 
The players sit in a circle and one begins by repeating a line oiS ames - 
poetry. The next caps it by repeating whatever line comes next 
to it in the poem from which it is taken. The poem may either 
be continued or the game may deal only in couplets or four-lined 
stanzas. In another quotation game the first player repeats a 
line of poetry and the next follows it with another line of poetry 
which begins with the last letter of the previous quotation. 
Thus, if the first player says — 

It was the schooner Hesperus 
That sailed the wintry sea, 

the next might cap it with — 

A man's a man for a' that, 
and the next with — 

The quality of mercy is not strained. 

Rhyming games require more taxing of brains than most Two 
players care for. The ordinary rhyming game, without using rhyming 
paper, is for one player to make a remark in an easy metre, and S anies - 
for the next to add a line completing the couplet. Thus in one 
game that was played one player said — 



80 What Shall We Do Now? 

It is a sin to steal a pin. 

Much more to steal an apple. 

And the next finished it by adding — 

And people who are tempted to. 
With Satan ought to grapple. 

But this was showing more skill than there is real need for. 

An easier rhyming game is that in which the rhyme has to 
come at the beginning of the line. The players are seated in a 
circle and one begins by asking the next a question of any 
nature whatever, or by making any casual remark, the first word of 
the answer to which must rhyme with the last word of the question. 
The game is then started, each player in turn adding a remark 
to that made by the one before him, always observing the 
rhyming rule. Thus, the original question may be, " Do you 
like mince pies ? " The next player may reply, " Wise people 
always do." The next, " You, I suppose, agree with that?" 
The next, " Flat you may knock me if I don't." The next, " Won't 
you change the subject, please ? " And the next : " iiVz.r-ily ; let's 
talk of books." 

Telling This is another of those fireside games that need more 

stones. readiness of mind than many persons think a game should ask 

for. The first player begins an original story, stopping immedi- 
ately (even in the middle of a sentence) when the player who is 
appointed time-keeper says " Next." The next player takes it 
up ; and so forth until the end comes, either at the end of the 
first round or whatever round seems best. 

Another way is for each player to contribute only a single 
word ; but this is rarely successful, because every one is not at the 
same pitch of attention. Except on the part of the person who 
is narrating there ought to be absolute silence. 

Clumps. The company, according to the number of persons, divides 

up into two or three or even four groups, or clumps, in different 



What Shall We Do Now? 81 

parts of the room, seated closely in circles. As many players as 
there are clumps then go out and decide on some extremely 
out-of-the-way thing which the clumps have to guess. In one 
game, for example, the pig was thought of from which was cut 
the bristles which formed the brush with which Mr. Thomas 
Sidney Cooper, R.A., painted his first picture. That is the kind 
of far-fetched and ingenious thing. When it is decided upon, the 
players return to the room and take their places, one in the midst 
of each clump. Questions are then put to them the answers to 
which must be either "Yes" or "No," and the clump that discovers 
the thing first is the winner. 

The same game can be played without such keen rivalry, one Other Yes 
player sitting in the midst of a great circle and answering questions and No 
in turn. There is also a game called "Man and Object," m& ami 
which two players go out and decide upon a man (or woman) 
and something inanimate or not human with which he is associ- 
ated or which he is known to have used, such as " Washington 
and his hatchet," " Whittington and his cat," " A druid and his 
mistletoe-knife." They then return and each player asks them 
each a question in turn until the problem is solved. 

The same game is sometimes turned inside out, the players 
that remain in the room deciding upon some one whom the 
player that has gone out has to personate and discover. In this 
case it is he who puts the questions. As he is supposed for the 
time being actually to be the thing thought of, he ought to frame 
his questions accordingly : " Am I living ? " " Have I been dead 
long ? " " Am I a man ? " and so forth. 

This is a catch game and useless except when one of the My right- 
company knows nothing about it. That player is sent out of the ^ land 
room, and after a due interval is called in again and told to guess nei S l our ' 
what the other players have thought of. He may ask any questions 
he pleases that can be answered by " Yes " or " No. " The thing 

G 



82 What Shall We Do Now? 

thought of is each player's right-hand neighbour, who is of course 
so different in every case as to lead in time to the total bewilder- 
ment of the guesser. 

How, when, One player leaves the room, while the others decide on some 

and where. WO rd, the name of a thing for choice (such as tale, tail), which has 
one pronunciation but two or three different meanings and perhaps 
spellings. They then sit in a circle or line and the other player 
is called in, his object being, by means of questions put in turn 
to each player, to discover what the word is. His questions 
must take the form, " How do you like it ? " " When do you like 
it ? " and " Where do you like it ? " Let us suppose that " tale " 
is the word thought of. " How do you like it ? " he will ask the 
first of the circle. The answer may be, " I like it amusing " (tale). 
" How do you like it ? " he may ask the next. " I like it active " 
(tail). To the next, " When do you like it ? " "I like it at 
night " (tale). To the next, " Where do you like it ? " " At the 
end " (tail). To the next, " Where do you like it ? " "In an arm- 
chair" (tale). And so on until he guesses the word. 

Coffee-pot. A similar game is called " Coffee-Pot " or " Tea-Pot." In 

this case also the company think of a word with more than one 
meaning, but instead of answering questions about it they make 
a pretence of introducing it into their answers by putting the word 
" coffee-pot " in its place. As the player who is guessing is at 
liberty to put any kind of question he likes, it is well to choose 
a word that will go easily into ordinary conversation. Let us 
suppose, for instance, that the word is rain, reign, rein. The 
questions and answers may run something like this : — " Are you 
feeling pretty well to-day ? " "I always feel well when there is 
no coffee-pot " (rain). " Have you been reading anything inter- 
esting lately ? " " Yes, a very interesting book on the present 
coffee-pot " (reign). " I hope your toothache is better." " Thank 
you, I hope its coffee-pot will soon be over " (reign). " Did you 



What Shall We Do Now? 83 

walk here this evening ? " " No ; we came with the assistance 
of the coffee-pot " (rein). The guesser is allowed to make three 
guesses aloud, but after that he must meditate on the word in 
silence or put questions to test his theories. If the word is a 
verb and a past tense or present tense has to be used in an answer, 
the player says " coffee-potted " or " coffee-potting." 

This is much like " How, When, and Where," except that Throwing 
instead of asking questions the player, or players, that went out "g^t- 
sit still and listen to the others talking to each other concerning 
the selected word's various meanings. Thus, if it is " Spring," 
the first may remark, " It makes our drives so much more 
comfortable " ; the next, " I am always happier then than at any 
other time " ; the next, " To drink there is to know what drinking 
really is " ; and so on. 

This is also a similar game to " How, When, and Where," Animal, 
except that the player who goes out of the room has, on his re- vegetable, 
turn, to guess something belonging to one of these three groups. an vuneral - 
His first question therefore is, 'Ts it animal?" Perhaps it is not. 
" Is it vegetable ? " " No." He knows then that it is mineral, 
and after that to find out what it is is only a matter of time. 

One or two players go out. The others sit in line and choose Proverbs. 
a proverb having as many words as there are players. Thus, if 
there were eight players, " They love too much who die for love " 
would do ; or if more than eight, two short proverbs might be 
chosen. Each player having made certain what his word is, the 
others are called in. It is their duty to find out what proverb 
has been fixed upon, and the means of doing so is to ask each 
player in turn a question on any subject whatever, the answer to 
which must contain that player's word in the proverb. If the 
first round of questions does not reveal the proverb, they go 
round again and again. 



8 4 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Shouting In this game, instead of answering questions one by one, 

proverbs. when the guesser or guessers come in the players at a given 

signal shout the words which belong to them at the top of their 

voice and all together. The guessers have to separate the 

proverb from the din. 

Acting This is a very simple acting game. The players should divide 

proverbs. themselves into actors and audience. The actors decide upon a 
proverb, and in silence represent it to the audience as dramatically 
as possible. Such proverbs as " Too many cooks spoil the broth," 
and " A bad workman quarrels with his tools," would be very 
easy — almost too easy if any stress is laid upon guessing. But, of 
course, although the guessing is understood to be part of the fun, 
the acting is the thinsr. 



Acting 
initials. 



Two players go out. The others choose the name of a well- 
known person, public or private, the letters of whose name are 
the same in number as the players left in the room. Thus, 
supposing there are seven persons in the room, the name might be 
Dickens. The letters are then distributed ; each player, as soon 
as he knows which letter is his, selecting some well-known living 
or historical character beginning with the same letter, whom he 
has to describe or personate. To personate is more fun than to 
describe. The players seat themselves in the right order to spell 
the name, and the other two are called in. When they are ready 
the first player, D, is called on to describe or impersonate his 
letter ; and so on in the right order. 



Acting 
verbs, or 
dumb 
crambo. 



In this game the company divides into two. One half 
goes out, and the one that remains decides upon a verb which the 
others shall act in dumb show. A messenger is then despatched 
to tell the actors what the chosen word rhymes to. Thus, if 
" weigh " were the verb fixed upon, the messenger might announce 
that it rhymes to " day." It is then well for the actors to go 



What Shall We Do Now? 85 

through the alphabet for verbs — bay, bray, lay, neigh, pay, prey, 
pray, play, stay, say ; and act them in order. When the word 
is wrong the spectators hiss, but when right they clap. If 
the word chosen has two syllables, as " obey," notice ought to be 
given. 


A very simple game. One player goes out. The others Guessing 
decide on some workman to represent, each pretending to do some employ- 
different task belonging to his employment. Thus, if they choose ments - 
a carpenter, one will plane, one will saw, one will hammer, one 
will chisel, and so on. Their occupation has then to be guessed. 
It is perhaps more interesting if each player chooses a separate 
trade. 

One player goes out. The others then say in turn something Stool of 
personal about him — such as, " He has a pleasant voice " ; " His re P entance - 
eye is piercing"; " He would look better if he wore a lower collar." 
Those remarks are written down by one of the party, and the 
player is called in and placed on a chair in the middle. The 
recorder then reads the remarks that he has collected, and the 
player in the middle has to name the persons who made them. 

A dust sheet, or a screen made of newspapers, is hung up, and Eyes. 
two holes, a little larger than eyes and the same distance apart, 
are made in it. Half the players retire to one side of it, and half 
stay on the other. They then look through the holes in turn, 
while those on the opposite side try to name the owner of the eyes. 
The game sounds tame, but the difficulty of recognition and the 
false guesses made soon lead to laughter. 

This is a trick. Those in the company who have never played Making 
the game go out of the room. One of the inside players, who is obeisance. 
to represent the potentate, then mounts a chair and is covered 
with a sheet which reaches to the ground. At the point where it 



86 



What Shall We Do Now? 



touches a shoe is placed, the toe of which is just visible. In the 
potentate's hand is a sponge full of water. One of the players 
outside is then invited in ; he is told to kneel down and kiss the 
toe ; the potentate on the chair leans forward a little to bring his 
sponge immediately over the subject's head ; and a shower-bath 
follows. Then another subject is admitted, but after a while 
there is enough water on the floor to make them suspicious.- 

Mesmerism. Another trick. The players who are to be mesmerised — 

among them being the one or two who do not know the game — 
stand in a row, each holding a dinner-plate in the left hand. The 
mesmeriser, who also has a dinner-plate, faces them, and impresses 
on them very seriously the importance, if they really want to be 
mesmerised, of doing exactly what he does and not moving their 
eyes from him in any direction. He then holds the plate flat, rubs 
the first finger of his right hand on the bottom of it, and makes 
an invisible cross on his forehead, on each cheek, and on the 
tip of his nose. That is all. The trick lies in the fact that the 
plates of the players who do not know the game have been held 
in the flame of a candle until they are well blacked. This means 
that when the mesmerism is over they each have black marks on 
their faces, and know nothing about it until they are led to a 
looking-glass. 



Thought- 
reading 
tricks. 



In all thought-reading games it is best that only the two 
performers should know the secret. Of these two, one goes out of 
the room and the other stays in, after having first arranged on 
the particular trick which will be used. Perhaps the company 
will then be asked to settle on a trade. Let us say that they 
decide on a chemist. The other player is then called in, and his 
companion puts questions to him in this way : — " You have to 
name the trade which we have thought of. Is it a grocer ? " 
" No." " Is it a draper ? " " No." " Is it a goldsmith ? " " No." 
" Is it a fruiterer ? " " No." " Is it a lawyer ? " " No." " Is it 



What Shall We Do Now ? 87 

a chemist ? " " Yes." This will look rather mysterious to some 
of the company ; but the thing is really simple enough. The 
questioner merely arranged with his companion that the trade 
thought of should follow a profession. 

Perhaps on the next occasion the company will be asked to 
think of an article in the room. Let us say that they fix on the 
clock. The questions will then run something like this : — " You 
have to name the article in this room which has been thought of. 
Is it the piano ? " " No." " Is it the curtain-rod ? " " No." 
" Is it the carpet ? " " No." " Is it the fireplace ? " " No." 
" Is it the sideboard ? " " No." " Is it the arm-chair ? " " No." 
" Is it the clock ? " " Yes." This again is bewildering ; but 
again the trick is very simple, the questioner having arranged 
that the article shall follow something that has four legs. 

A third way is for an article to be touched and for the 
thought-reader to be asked to name it. " Is it this ? " " Is it 
this ? " " Is it this ? " is asked of one thing after another, the 
answer always being " No." " Is it that ? " " Yes." The secret 
is that the article touched is always signified by " Is it that ? " 
But in this case, and in that of the others already described, the 
effect of mystification can be increased by arranging beforehand 
that the article in question shall not follow the key phrase 
immediately, but, say, two questions later. 

A fourth way is for the questioner to begin each question in 
due order with a letter of the French word for the article touched. 
Thus, if it were the bell, he might say, " Come now, was it the 
table ? " " Zook, was it the arm-chair ? " " Or the piano ? " 
" Come now, was it this book ? " " Zfow about this hearth-rug ? " 
" .Endeavour to be quick, please. Was it the clock ? " By this time 
" Cloche " has been spelled, so that the next question is, " Was it 
the bell ? " " Yes." 

In another form of " Thought-reading " the two players who 
know the secret remain in the room long enough for the trick to 
be made sure. One stands in a corner and the other calls loudly, 



88 



What Shall We Do Now? 



" Ebenezer, do you hear ? " (Ebenezer is the usual name, but a 
more attractive one would do.) Ebenezer says nothing, but 
listens attentively to hear who among the company speaks first. 
The other player repeats the question and still there is no answer. 
Soon after that some one will perhaps make a remark, and then 
Ebenezer, having got what he was waiting for, says, " Yes, I hear." 
" Then leave the room," says the other player, and Ebenezer 
goes out. The other player then makes a great show of 
choosing some one to touch, but ends by touching the person 
who spoke first after the game began. This done, Ebenezer 
is called in to say who was touched, and every one is puzzled 
by his knowledge. 



thought of. 



To guess With these thought-reading tricks may be put one or two 

any number arithmetical puzzles. Here is a way to find out the number that 
a person has thought of. Tell him to think of any number, odd 
or even. (Let us suppose that he thinks of 7.) Then tell him 
to double it (14), add 6 to it (20), halve it (10), and multiply it 
by 4 (40). Then ask him how many that makes. He will say 
40. You divide this in your mind by 2 (20), subtract 6 (14), 
divide by 2 again (7), and astonish him by saying that the 
number of which he thought was 7. 

In this case you insist on the number chosen being an even 
number. Let us suppose it is 8. Tell him to multiply by 3 
(24), halve it (12), multiply by 3 again (36), and then to tell 
you how many times 9 will go into the result. He will say 4. 
Double this in your mind and tell him that he thought of 8. 



To guess 
any even 
number 
thought of. 



To guess 
the result 
of a sum. 



Another trick. Tell the person to think of a number, to 
double it, add 6 to it, halve it and take away the number first 
thought of. When this has been done you tell him that 3 
remains. If these directions are followed 3 must always remain. 
Let us take 7 and 1 as examples. Thus 7 doubled is 14 ; add 
6 and it is 20 ; halved, it is 10 ; and if the number first thought 



What Shall We Do Now? 89 

of — 7 — is subtracted, 3 remains. Again, I doubled is 2 ; 6 
added makes 8 ; 8 halved is 4, and 1 from 4 leaves 3. 

A more bewildering puzzle is this. Tell as many persons 
as like to, to think of any sum of money that occurs to them in 
which the pounds are not more than eleven and the pence are a 
smaller number than the pounds. Thus £1 1 : 19 : 10 might be 
thought of, but not £11 : 19 : n, and not £12:0:0, and not 
£y : 14:8. The amount being chosen and written down, you 
tell each player to reverse the figures so that the pounds come 
under the pence, the shillings under the shillings, and the pence 
under the pounds. Then tell them to subtract, to reverse again, and 
add ; remarking to each one that you know what the answer will 
be, namely £12 : 18 : 11. Let us suppose that three players 
choose sums, one being £11 : 19: 10, one £$ :o:o, and one 
£3:2:1. Each sets them on the paper, reverses the figures and 
subtracts. Thus : — 

£11 19 10 ^500 £321 
101911 005 123 



£ o 19 11 £4 19 7 £1 19 10 

The figures are then reversed again and added. Thus 

£ o 19 11 £4 19 7 £1 19 10 
11 19 o 7 19 4 10 19 1 



£12 18 11 £12 18 11 £12 18 11 

Guessing competitions, which are of American invention, can Guessing 
be an interesting change from ordinary games. In some the competitions. 
company are all asked to contribute, as in " Book Teas," where 
a punning symbolic title of a book is worn by each guest, and 
a prize is given to the person who guesses most, and to the person 
whose title is considered the best. Thus, a person wearing a 
card having the letter R represented Middlemarch, and a person 



90 



What Shall We Do Now? 



with catkins in his buttonhole, HazelPs Annual. But simpler 
devices are just as interesting. 

In other guessing competitions the preparations are the affair 
of the household which gives the party. It is with these that we 
are concerned here. Giving prizes certainly adds to the interest 
of them. 



Scents. 



Several articles of number are placed on a table, say a box of 
matches, a bag of cowries, a reel of cotton or ball of string, a 
large stone, a stick, a photograph, and various coins with the date 
side turned down. Each of the company is provided with a 
card on which these articles are written, and the object is to 
guess as nearly as possible something about each ; for instance, 
how many matches there are in the box, how many cowries in 
the bag, the length of the string, the weight of the stone, the 
length of the stick, the age of the person in the photograph, and 
the date of each coin. The right answers are, of course, ascer- 
tained beforehand and written on a card in the hostess's possession. 

The real name of this game may be something else, but 
" Observation " explains it. A small table is covered with a 
variety of articles, to the extent of some twenty or thirty. It 
is then covered with a cloth and placed in the middle of the 
room. The players stand round it and the cloth is removed for 
a minute (or longer). During that time the aim of each player 
is to note and remember as many of the things as possible. 
The cloth is then put on again and the players have five minutes 
in which to write the fullest list they can of the objects seen. 

A more puzzling competition is to place a row of large bottles 
on the table, all numbered, at the bottom of each of which is a 
small amount of liquid bearing a noticeable scent. Some may 
be toilet scents, and others medicines or essences used in 
cooking. A card numbered according to the bottles is given to 



What Shall We Do Now? 



9i 



each player, and the game is to guess as many of the scents as 
possible. 

Many recent parties have included a florin examination ; but The florin 
of course to have been in for one already, or to have seen the exam. 
answers, is to make this game impossible for you. The answers 
are therefore not given here. These are the questions, which are 
written on a card and handed to each player with a new florin : — 









Twenty-Two Questions 




1. Find on the florin part of a river. 




2 


,, ,, a good skating place for Londoners. 




3 






a timid animal. 




4 






a great railway station. 




5 






a spice. 




6 






a French town. 




7 






half of the food of a Biblical character. 




8 






part of a hat. 




9 






emblems of French royalty. 




10 






an accumulation of grains of corn. 




1 1 






an emblem of Irish heraldry. 




12 






a mischievous child. 




13 






a fastening. 




14 






an outline. 




15 






a girl's name. 




16 






a weapon of defence. 




17 






a spring flower. 




18 






a fruit. 




19 






part of a hill. 




20 






that which is placed in the midst of sin and crime 


21 






food for asses. 




22 






another coin. 





Each player writes the answer on the card opposite the ques- 
tion. Half an hour, say, is given, and at the end the examiner 
reads out the answers. Those that have them right note the 
fact on the card, and the winner is either permitted to retain the 
florin or is awarded another prize. The competition has already 
won so much favour that it cannot be tried much more. But 



92 What Shall We Do Now? 

the model should be useful for the devising of other examinations 
of a similar character. 

The topsy- The performers in this concert, who should be of nearly the 

turvy same size, take their places behind a sheet stretched across the 

room at the height of their chins. They then put stockings on 
their arms and boots on their hands (or this may be done "before 
they come into the room), and stand looking over the sheet at the 
company, with their hands and arms carefully hidden. The con- 
cert begins by the singing of the first verse of a song. Immedi- 
ately the verse is finished, the singers, stooping down so that their 
heads disappear from view, thrust up their arms and wave them 
about, the effect being that of a row of people standing on their 
heads. The chorus is thus sung. Then they pull down their 
arms and put up their heads again and sing the next verse. 

Charades. " Charades " can be written in advance and carefully rehearsed, 

but in this book we are concerned more nearly with those that 
are arranged a few minutes (the fewer the better) before they 
are performed. As a rule a word of two or three syllables is 
chosen, the syllables are first acted, then the whole word, and 
then the audience guess what it was. Sometimes the word is 
brought in, both in its complete form and in its syllables ; and 
sometimes — and this is perhaps the better way — it is acted. 
Thus, if the word were " Treason," one way would be to make the 
acts themselves anything that occurred to you, merely saying 
" Tree " with some distinctness in the first ; " Son " or " Sun " 
in the second ; and " Treason " in the third. The other and 
more interesting way would be to make the first act relate to 
tree-felling or tree-planting, or, say, a performance by Mr. Tree ; 
the second to a son or the sun ; and the third to some treasonable 
situation, such as, for example, the Gunpowder Plot. On account 
of the time which is occupied in preparing and acting it is better 
to choose two-syllabled words — which, with the whole word, make 



What Shall We Do Now? 93 

three scenes — than three- or four-syllabled ones ; although there 
are certain four-syllabled words which split naturally into two 
halves of two syllables each. " Parsimony," for example, could 
be performed : Parsee, money, parsimony. As a general rule the 
charades that are arranged during the evening are better performed 
in dumb show, with plenty of action, than with any talking at all. 
Gestures are under the circumstances so much easier than words 
and not any less amusing. 

Very good fun can be had also from impromptu pantomimes, Dumb per- 
where the performers enact some story which every one knows, formances. 
such as " Aladdin " or " Red Riding Hood " or " Cinderella " ; or 
a scene from history proper, or from village or family history. The 
contrast between the splendour of Cinderella's carnage in the 
story and the old perambulator which has to serve in the charade 
only adds to the fun. Every one, being dumb, acts to the utmost. 
It is sometimes more amusing if all the parts are turned upside 
down and a boy plays the heroine and a girl the hero. Where 
the scene is too tremendous for any representation to be given, 
it is best to meet the case frankly and use, as they did in Shake- 
speare's day, written labels, such as " This is Aladdin's Palace." 

It is, of course, much more fun to dress up ; but dressing up Dressing up. 
is not so important that a charade is spoiled without it. If, on 
the day of your party, you know that charades will play a part 
in it, it is wise to put in a convenient room a number of things 
suitable to dress up in. Then at the last minute there need be 
no furious running upstairs to pull things out of wardrobes and 
boxes, and the unpleasantness will be avoided which sometimes 
follows when you have taken somebody's best clothes for a rather 
violent performance. 

Almost the best garment there is for dressing-up purposes is 
a fur coat. While priceless for Red Riding Hood's wolf it will 
make also most of the other animals in the Zoo. A volunteer's 



94 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Tableaux 
vivants. 



Remarks on 
acting. 



Waxworks. 



or soldier's uniform is a great possession, and a real policeman's 
helmet has made the success of many charades. Most kinds of 
hat can, however, easily be made on the morning of a party 
out of brown paper. Epaulettes and cockades are also easily 
made of the same material. Powder or flour for white hair, some 
corks for moustaches and beards (you hold them in the candle 
for a minute and wait till they are cool enough to use), and a 
packet of safety-pins should be in handy places. Cherry tooth- 
paste makes serviceable rouge. 

"Tableaux Vivants" are a change from acting, but they need, if 
done at all well, a great deal of preparation and rehearsal, and 
are therefore perhaps better left to older people. But quickly- 
arranged groups representing (not too seriously) scenes in English 
history might be good fun. 

The drawback to all charades and dressing up at a party is 
that they make away with so much valuable time of the players 
who are out of the room, and unsettle those who are left in. It 
should be the first duty of every one taking part in acting at 
parties to decide quickly on the subject or word, and to perform it 
quickly. Many and many a party has been spoiled by the slow- 
ness of the actors outside. Historical or family scenes with no 
dressing up and some action are perhaps better than much 
dressing up and absolute stillness. In " Canute and the Waves," 
for example, it is better that the in-coming tide should be repre- 
sented by a boy rolling slowly over the carpet than that there 
should be nothing but fixed eyes and stern faces. 

Another kind of dumb acting is the waxwork show ; but this, 
to be successful, requires an older person with plenty of ready 
fun, to take the part of Mrs. Jarley (in The Old Curiosity Shop) 
or showman. Without such assistance it is hardly worth while 
to try them ; and if you have a showman all the particulars of 
the show will come from him. 



GARDEN GAMES FOR GIRLS 



GARDEN GAMES FOR GIRLS 

Garden games for girls and garden games for boys are very 
often the same, although they are separated here for the sake of 
convenience. 

" Battledore and Shuttlecock " is equally good for one player or Battledore 
for two. The only game to be played is to see how long the and 
shuttlecock can be kept in the air. If you are alone the best shuttlecock. 
way is to set yourself a number, say a hundred, and persevere 
until you reach it. This can be varied by striving to reach, say, 
thirty, by first hitting the ball each time as hard as possible, and 
then hitting it very gently so that it hardly rises at all. 

Ordinary skipping is good enough fun for most of us, but for Skipping. 
those who are not satisfied with it there is skipping extraordinary, 
one feat of which is now and then to send the rope round twice 
before you touch the ground again. To do this, as it cannot be 
done with a mere rope, you must make a new rope of whipcord, 
in the middle of which you place a small chain about a foot long. 
This chain gives the weight necessary for whirling the rope very 
swiftly through the air. 

The player who is first going to be Tom Tiddler stands or sits Tom 
inside the part of the garden (or room) marked off for him, Tiddler's 
pretending to be asleep. The others venture on his ground, S round - 

H 



98 



What Shall We Do Now? 



crying, " Here we are on Tom Tiddler's ground, picking up gold 
and silver." As Tom still sleeps they grow bolder and bolder 
until he suddenly awakens and dashes for them. The one that is 
caught becomes Tom Tiddler. Tom may not cross the boundary- 
line. 

Old stone. Another " Tom Tiddler's Ground." One player crouches down 

pretending to be a stone. The others run round about her, 
gradually, as she shows no sign of life, getting nearer and more 
bold. The stone suddenly leaps up and begins to chase them, 
and the one cauerht is the old stone. 



Hen and Even more exciting than " Tom Tiddler's Ground " is " Hen 

chickens.- an( j Chickens." In this game one player represents a fox and 
sits on the ground looking sly and hungry. The others, who 
are the hen and chickens, form a procession, holding each 
other's skirts or coats by both hands, and march past the fox, 
saying in turn — 

Chickany, chickany, crany crow, 

I went to the well to wash my toe, 

And when I came back a chicken was dead. 

Then they leave go of each other and stand round the fox, 
and the leader, the hen, says, " What are you doing, old fox ? " 
The fox replies, " Making a fire " ; and the conversation goes 
en like this : — 

The Hen : What for ? 

The Fox : To boil some water. 

The Hen : What is the water for ? 

The Fox : To scald a chicken. 

The Hen : Where will you get it ? 

The Fox : Out of your flock. 

With these words the fox springs up and the hen and chickens 
run in all directions. The chicken that is caught becomes the new 
fox, and the old fox is the new hen, the leader of the procession. 



What Shall We Do Now? 99 

The same game is played by Essex children with an old 
woman in place of the fox, and with different words. In this case 
the hen and chickens make a procession in front of a player who 
personates an old weeping woman. As they march by, the 
hen sings — 

Chickens, come clock, come clock, come clock, 
Chickens, come clock, come clock, come clock, 
The kites are away and the crows are asleep, 
It's time that my chickens had something to eat. 

Then they leave go of each other and stand round the old 
weeping woman, and between her and the hen the following 
conversation is held : — 

The Hen : What are you crying for, my poor old woman ? 

The Old Woman : Because I've lost my needle. 

The Hen : What do you want a needle for ? 

The Old Woman : To sew a bag with. 

The Hen : What do you want a bag for ? 

The Old Woman : To put salt in. 

The Hen : What do you want salt for ? 

The Old Woman : To scour a saucepan. 

The Hen : What do you want a saucepan for ? 

The Old Woman : To boil one of your chickens in. 

The old woman then leaps up and tries to catch a chicken, 
and the hen tries to stop her. 

In this game, which is a variation of " Hen and Chickens," one Frog i?t the 
player takes the part of the mother, one of the frog, and the well, or 
others are children. It is supposed to be washing-day, and the ^"* " u ^- 
mother being busy, she gives her children some bread and cheese 
and says, " Now, children, I'm very busy, and I can't wash when 
you're about bothering me, so run away to the field and play, 
and mind you don't come back before dinner." " Very well," 
answer the children, and off they go to the field — which is a part 
of the garden as far from the mother as possible. Here they 

tofC. 



IOO 



What Shall We Do Now? 



begin to play, when suddenly they catch sight of the frog, who 
has been hidden there. He makes fearful sounds and horrible 
grimaces, and frightens the children so much that they run home. 
The mother is very angry with them ; she sends them away again, 
and threatens to beat them should they come back before dinner. 
The children return timidly to the field where the frog still sits. 
His grimaces are more horrible and the sounds he makes more 
fearful. They rush home again helter-skelter, and their indignant 
mother gives them a sound beating and forces them to go out 
again. This time, as they reach the field, the frog jumps up and 
races after them. The one who is caught before reaching home 
becomes frog. 



Other 

garden 

games. 



Many of the games described in other parts of this book are 
good also for the garden ; such as " Puss in the Corner " (p. 6), 
" Honey-pots" (p. 10), "Nuts in May" (p. 1 1), " Here I Bake" 
(p. 12), "Lady Queen Anne" (p. 17), "The Mulberry Bush" 
(p. 24), and " Looby, Looby " (p. 24). 



Witches. " Witches " is a home-made game played thus, according 

to the description of E. H. : — " One player is made witch. A 
good spot is chosen for home, and here the others wait until the 
witch has had time to hide. The idea is that the country round 
is preyed upon by the witch, home being the only place where 
she has no power. The rest of the children have to explore 
the witch's country without being caught by her. It must be a 
point of honour to leave no suspicious place unexamined. The 
child chosen for witch need not be a particularly fast runner, but 
she must be clever and a good dodger. Any one that the witch 
succeeds in touching is at once turned to stone and may not stir 
except as she is moved about by the witch, who chooses a spot to 
stand her victim in as far removed from home as possible. The 
stone can be released only by some other child finding her and 
dragging her safely home, where the spell ceases to act. But 



What Shall We Do Now? 101 

until actually home the victim remains stone, so that if the rescuer 
is surprised by the witch and lets go her hold, the stone has to 
stand where she is left and is so recovered by the witch. The 
witch must not, of course, guard her prisoners too closely. She 
ought to try and intercept the rescuers on their way home, rather 
than spring upon them in the act of finding the stone. But each 
time the stone is recovered the witch may place her in a more 
inaccessible spot, so that it becomes more and more dangerous to 
release her. Sometimes at the end of the game all the children 
are turned to stone in different parts of the garden, but sometimes, 
of course, a swift runner will outstrip the witch and drag the 
victim safely home. A clever witch acts the part too — appearing 
and disappearing suddenly, prowling about in a crouching 
attitude, making gestures of hate and rage, and so on." 

Another home-made game is described by E. H. thus : — " The The ballad 
game is taken from the player's favourite ballads. In our \A.-&y S ame - 
the eldest of the four players, who was also the best organiser, 
represented the cruel father. The youngest little girl was the fair 
damsel. The other two represented the wicked lover and the 
faithful knight, the part of the faithful knight being taken by the 
fleetest of the party to balance the combination of the father and 
the wicked lover. The game begins by the fair damsel being im- 
prisoned in the coach-house because she refuses to marry the 
wicked lover. (Of course any shed would do.) Here she waits 
until her knight comes to rescue her, and they escape together, 
pursued by the other two. If the lovers succeed in getting away 
the story has a happy ending ; but the more dramatic ending is 
the tragic one, when the faithful knight is overtaken, and after 
killing the cruel father and the wicked lover, himself dies of his 
wounds, the fair damsel slaying herself with his sword over his 
dead body. 

" The interest of this game is greatly increased by having 
retainers. These are armies of sticks which are planted at 



102 What Shall We Do Now? 

particular corners. There must be some mark by which your 
own retainers can be distinguished from the enemy's. For 
instance, the faithful knight may have peeled sticks and the others 
unpeeled. If, when charging round the house, you come across 
a troop of the enemy's retainers, you cannot go on until you have 
thrown them all down, as they are set to guard the pass. So, if 
the lovers are escaping and they find their way blocked by the 
father's retainers (the father and the wicked lover may have 
separate sets of retainers, in which case the war is always bitterest 
between the two rivals, as the father's retainers are sometimes 
spared for the damsel's sake), they have to lose time by first 
overcoming the retainers and that gives time to their pursuers to 
come up. But if they are so far in advance that they can stop 
to set up their own retainers in the place of the enemy, it serves 
to give them further time to make good their escape, as the others 
have to wait to overthrow the knight's sticks in their turn. In 
no case are you allowed to take away your enemy's sticks. If 
the lovers are overtaken, the rivals have to fight, and meanwhile 
the father once more carries off and imprisons the damsel." 

Counting- To decide who is to begin a game there are various counting- 

out rhymes. ou t rhymes. All the players stand in a circle, surrounding the 
one who counts. At each pause in the rhyme (which occurs 
wherever a stroke has been placed in the versions which follow) 
this one touches the players in turn -until the end is reached. The 
player to whom the last number comes is to begin. This is 
one rhyme : — 

Een-a, | deen-a, | dine-a, | dust, | 
Cat'll-a, | ween-a, | wine-a, | wust, | 
Spin, | spon, | must | be | done, | 
Twiddlum, I twaddlum, | twenty-one. I 
O- | U- | T | spells | out. | 

Others : — 

Intery, | mintery, | cutery I corn, | 
Apple | seed | and | apple | thorn ; J 



What Shall We Do Now? 

Wine, | brier, | limber | lock, [ 
Five | geese | in | a j flock ; | 
Sit and sing [ by a spring | 
O- | U- | T | and | in | again. | 

One-ery, | two-ery, | 

Ziccary j zan ; | 
Hollowbone, | crack-a-bone, | 

Ninery, | ten ; [ 
Spittery | spot, | 

Must | be | done, | 
Twiddledum, | twaddledum, 

Twenty-one. 



IO3 



The old way of making a daisy chain is to split one stalk Daisy 

chains. 




DAISY CHAINS. 



and thread the next through it up to the head, as in this drawing. 
That is for out-of-doors. If you are using the chain for decora- 
tions indoors, it is perhaps better to cut off the stalks and thread 
the heads on cotton ; but there seems to be no great need to use 
daisies in this way at all. 

An ivy chain is made by passing the stalk of one leaf through 
the point of another and then bending it round and putting it 




IVY CHAINS. 



through the point of its own leaf, the hole thus made being used 
for the stalk of the next, and so on, as in this drawing. 



io4 



What Shall We Do Now? 



A flower-show competition is an excellent garden game. A 
handkerchief on sticks forms the tent. Underneath this is a 
bed of sand in which the flowers, singly or in groups, can be 
fixed. Some one can easily be persuaded to come out of the 
house to act as judge. 

Shop in the garden or out-of-doors is played with various 
things that resemble articles of food. Thus you can get excellent 
coffee from sorrel, and capital little bundles of rhubarb can be 
made by taking a rhubarb leaf and cutting the ribs into stalks. 
Small stones make very good imitation potatoes, and the heads 
of marguerite daisies on a plate will easily pass for poached eggs. 

In this place a word might be said about some of the curious 
things to be found in flowers and plants. Most wonderful of all, 
perhaps, are the symbols in the Passion Flower. If you cut the 
stalk of a brake fern low down, in September, you find a spread- 
ing oak tree. In the midst of a periwinkle is a neat little brush. 
The pansy contains a picture of a man in a pulpit. The 
eschscholtzia is furnished with a perfect extinguisher. A poppy 
is easily transformed into an old woman in a red gown. The 
snap-dragon, when its sides are pinched, can be made to yawn. 
The mallow contains a minute cheese. By blowing the fluff on a 
dandelion that has run to seed you can tell (more or less correctly) 
the time of day. An ear of barley will run up your sleeve if the 
pointed end is laid just within it ; and an apple's pips make 
exquisite little mice. 



If the garden has no summer-house or tent a very good one 
can be made with a clothes-horse and a rug. 



GARDEN GAMES FOR BOYS 



GARDEN GAMES FOR BOYS 

The simplest thing to do with a ball is to catch it ; and the Ball games. 

quicker one is in learning to catch well the better cricketer one 

will become. Ordinary catching in a ring is good, but the 

practice is better if you try to throw the ball each time so that 

the player to whom you throw it shall not need to move his feet 

in order to catch it. This teaches straight throwing too. Long 

and high throwing and catching, and hard throwing and catching 

(standing as close together as you dare), are important. There 

is also dodge-catching, where you pretend to throw to one player 

and really throw to another and thus take him unawares. All 

these games can be varied and made more difficult by using only 

one hand, right or left, for catching with. 

A boy with a ball need never be very lonely. When tired Ball games 
of catching it in the ordinary way he can practise throwing the alone. 
ball straight into the air until, without his moving from his place, 
it falls absolutely on him each time. He can throw it up and 
catch it behind him, and if he has two others (or stones will do) 
he can strive for the juggler's accomplishment of keeping three 
things in the air at once. Every boy should practise throwing 
with his left hand (or, if he is already left-handed, with his 
right) : a very useful accomplishment. If it is a solid india- 
rubber ball and there is a blank wall, he can make it rebound 
at different angles, one good way being, in throwing it, to let it 
first hit the ground close to the wall's foot. He may also pledge 



108 What Shall We Do Now? 

himself to catch it first with the right hand and then with the 
left for a hundred times ; or to pat it up a hundred times with 
the flat of a bat. An interesting game for one is to mark out 
a golf course round the garden, making a little hole at intervals 
of half a dozen yards or so, and see how many strokes are needed 
in going round and getting into each hole on the way. 

Stump Of " Cricket " proper this book is not the place to speak ; nor 

cricket. Q f "Football" proper. But there are minor varieties of both games 

which are very good fun in the garden. Small, or "Stump," Cricket 
has laws which differ according to the place where it is played. 
In a small garden, "over the wall" is always out. "Three times 
on the flower-beds " is often out too, or for each time the ball 
reaches the flower-beds a run is subtracted from the score — 
whichever you like. Sometimes, when a lawn-tennis ball is used, 
catching the ball on the first bounce is out, but to make three first 
bounces out is perhaps fairer. For a bat you can use a lawn- 
tennis racket, or a walking-stick, or a stump, or a real bat of 
small size. A stump or stick is best, because it is fine training 
for the eye and you are bound to keep it straight if you really 
mean it to defend the wicket. In running it is best always (in 
single wicket) to fix a mark half-way up the crease, a little to 
the side, and run there and back. Then there is never that doubt 
as to whether you are in or not which so often follows in the 
case of running to the bowler's end. 

In small cricket, in a barn or other indoor place, it is better 
not to run. Instead you mark chalk lines on the floor, and if 
the ball goes past the first it scores I, past the second 2, and 
past the third 3, and if it hits the wall it is a boundary and 
scores 4. 

Bat and " Bat and Trap " can often be played where the conditions 

trap. are no j. r ight f or cr icket. Rules ought to accompany the trap 

when it is bought, but in case they do not it is enough to know 



What Shall We Do Now? 109 

that any number can play, dividing into two sides. One side 
fields out in likely places for the ball to go. The others take 
the bat one by one, place the ball in the socket, and hit the 
trigger. The ball then springs up, the object of the batsman being 
to hit it as it falls, as far as possible. The fieldsman who picks 
it up then bowls or throws it at the trap from the spot where he 
stands, and the batsman has the right of moving the trap so that 
the least possible surface is exposed to the fieldsman's aim. (Some- 
times, however, it is arranged that the contrary shall be the case, 
and the trap turned broadside on.) If the ball hits the trap the 
batsman is out. Otherwise he goes on hitting the ball again 
until the fieldsman's aim is correct. Each miss of the fieldsman 
scores one to the side that is in, but if the ball is caught by one 
of the fieldsmen before it touches the ground the whole side is 
out, even if the first batsman sent the catch. As the trap is small 
and throwing straight is not very easy, it is sometimes agreed that 
the batsman shall call out the number of bat's lengths which he 
will grant to the fieldsman who is about to aim ; and if the ball 
stops within that number's distance from the trap he is out. 

" Hockey " proper, with special clubs and a hard ball, has its Hockey and 
own rules and requires a field ; but a garden variety, played with rounders. 
ash sticks and a hollow ball, is sufficiently exciting. As few as 
two players can take part, although the game is then rather too 
exhausting. " Rounders," on the contrary, requires several players : 
enough on each side for two or three to remain in the base while 
four or five others are running round. For the rules of " Rounders " 
proper, as of " Cricket " and " Hockey," you must seek other books, 
but it may be said here that the best kind of ball for an ordinary 
small garden game is an old — last season — lawn-tennis ball 
from which much of the bounce has gone, and that it is better 
to use a stump to hit it with than a racket. To hit a ball with 
a racket needs very little skill, whereas to hit it with a stump 
demands a true eye. Almost as good a game can be had by 



no What Shall We Do Now? 

using only the hand. In placing the out-field, the "feeder" — or 
player who " serves " the ball to the striker — should post a man 
at each of the distant bases and should throw the ball to him to 
put a running man out rather than throw at the running man 
himself. To throw at the player running the first base and the 
last is all right, because the feeder's distance from him is small. 

Marbles. The first thing to learn in " Marbles " is the way that the 

marble should be held, as shown in the picture on p. ill. Of 
course one can have very good games by bowling the marble, 
as if it were a ball, or holding it between the thumb-nail and the 
second joint of the first finger and shooting it with the thumb 
from there ; but these ways are wrong. Marbles are divided 
into " taws," or well-made strong marbles with which you shoot, 
and " clays," or the ordinary cheap coloured marbles at which 
you aim and with which you pay your losses. 

Ring taw. Two or three boys with marbles could never have difficulty in 

hitting on a game to play with them, but the best regular game 
for several players is " Ring Taw." A chalk ring is made on as 
level a piece of ground as there is, and each player puts a clay 
on it at regular distances from each other. A line from which 
to shoot during the first round is then drawn two yards or so 
from the ring, and the game begins by the player who has won 
the right of leading off (a real advantage) knuckling down on 
the line and shooting at one of the marbles in the ring. If a 
player knocks a marble out of the ring, that marble is his and 
he has the right to shoot again from the place where his taw 
comes to a stand ; but if in knocking a marble out of the ring 
his taw remains in it (or if his taw remains in it under any con- 
dition whatever), he has to put all the marbles he has won into 
the ring, in addition to one for a fine, and take up his taw and 
play no more till the next game. There is one exception to this 
rule : If only one marble is left in the ring, and if, in knocking it 



What Shall We Do Now? 



1 1 1 



out, a player's taw remains in the ring, he does not suffer, because 
the game is then over. The other two rules are these : If a 
player succeeds in hitting the taw of another the owner of that 
taw not only must leave the game but hand over any marbles he 
has won. (In no case are taws parted with.) Also, if it happens 
that only two players are left, and one of these has his taw hit, 




KNUCKLING DOWN. 



that ends the game, for the player who hit it not only has 
the marble of the taw's owner but all the marbles left in the 
ring too. 

" Ring Taw " can be played by as few as two players ; but in 
this case they must each put several marbles in the ring. 

To decide which player is to begin, it is customary for them 
all to aim at the ring from the knuckling-down line, and which- 



ii2 What Shall We Do Now? 

ever one places his taw nearest to the middle of the ring has the 
right to lead. 

A garden A garden railway is, as a rule, made less for the trains than 

railway. ^g s ig na ] s# p ew people possess engines, but it is very easy to 
make a series of signal-posts and fix them at various points in 
the garden, with a signal-box, where the strings are pulled, some- 
where near the house. 

A flagstaff. If you can get permission, and some help from a carpenter 

or any one who knows the sea, it is a fine thing to have a flag- 
staff in the garden and a flag or two to fly on great occasions, 
such as the Queen's Birthday, and Trafalgar Day, and your own 
birthday, and on the first day of the holidays. The cost is next 
to nothing, for (unless you have a more elaborate one with a cross- 
tree), you want only a pole, some rope, and a pulley, and the 
flag can easily be made at home or bought for a few pence. 

Other Other garden games for boys will be found in the next, or 

games. Picnic, section. We might mention also " Steps " (p. 4), " Tug of 

War" (p. 33), and "Potato Races" (p. 34). 



PICNIC GAMES 



PICNIC GAMES 

THE most important thing about a picnic is water for tea. Usually Picnics. 
there is a cottage near the place, where water may be drawn, 
and possibly where it may be boiled too ; otherwise water has to 
be taken. It is always well to find out beforehand about water. 
Many a picnic has been spoiled for want of this preparation ; 
people baulked of their tea, or kept waiting for it until over-tired, 
being poor company. Milk has also to be thought of in advance. 
Two things which are usually very necessary at a picnic are a 
corkscrew and a box of what are called flaming vestas — matches 
which will keep alight in a wind. There cannot be too clear an 
understanding as to who is to take food, and what kind and 
amount each is to take. Many squires and landowners have 
shut their parks to picnic parties because of the hateful mess of 
paper and bottles which was found after they had left. 

For a short time " He " is a good warming game. It is the He, touch 
simplest of all games. The " He " runs after the others until he """*> or ta S- 
touches one. The one touched then becomes " He." 

The name explains the game, which is played as " He " is Touchwood. 
played, except that you can be caught only when you are not 
touching wood. It is a good game where there are trees. It is, 
of course, not fair to carry a piece of wood. 

This is the ordinary " Tag," save that if, while the " He " is Cross tag. 



n6 What Shall We Do Now? 

chasing one player, another runs across the trail between him and 
the pursued, the " He " has to abandon the player he was at first 
after and give chase to the one who has crossed. 

The little The players form a ring, leaving one outside, who passes 

do £- round it singing, " I have a little dog and he won't bite you," 

and as he does so, touching each player in turn with a knotted 
pocket-handkerchief. " And he won't bite you," " And he won't 
bite you," he calls to one after the other, and then suddenly 
changes this to " But he will bite you." The player touched 
when this is said has to run after the toucher with all his might. 
When caught they change places. 

Hunt the All the players except one join a ring. This one, with a 

sguzrrel. knotted handkerchief in his hand, walks round the outside of the 

ring for a while, and then, dropping the handkerchief behind one 

of the players, runs off crying — 

Hunt the squirrel through the wood. 
Now I've lost him — now I've found him ! 
Hunt the squirrel through the wood. 

The player behind whom the handkerchief was dropped must 
catch the squirrel before he can take up the empty place in the 
ring left by the pursuer. It is more fun if, in dropping the 
handkerchief, it can be done without the player discovering it for 
a little while. 



Gaps. The players form a ring : all except one, who is He. This 

one runs round the ring and touches one of the players in the 
circle. They both set off running immediately in opposite direc- 
tions, the object of each being to get first to the gap made in the 
circle by the player who was touched. The one who gets to the 
gap first remains in the circle, while the other becomes He. 



What Shall We Do Now? 117 

A very good picnic game. All the players except two form Twos and 
a large ring, standing in twos, one behind another. Of the two threes, or 
who are over, one is the pursuer and the other the pursued ; and ierza ' 
the game is begun by the pursued taking up his position (if he 
can do so before the pursuer catches him) in front of one of the 
couples in the ring, thus making three. Directly he does this 
he is safe, and the last player in the little group at the back of 
him has to run. Whoever is caught becomes the pursuer, 
while the one that caught him becomes the pursued until, by 
standing in front of one of the couples, he transfers that office 
to another. 

" Hide and Seek," which is perhaps the best out-of-door game Hide and 
without implements, needs no explanation. It is usual to give see &- 
the player who hides a start of as much time as it takes the 
others to count a hundred in. Some boys, instead of counting from 
one to a hundred, divide the sum into ten tens, which are counted 
thus : 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1 ; I, 2, 3, I, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1 ; and 
so on. These can be rattled through so quickly that your 100 
is done and you have started out before, in the ordinary way, 70 
would have been reached. 

" I Spy " combines " Hide and Seek" and " Tag." One player / spy. 
stays in the base, covers his eyes and counts a hundred, while 
the others run off and hide. On finishing the hundred the player 
shouts " Coming ! " and runs out to look for the others. Directly 
he catches sight of one of them (and they are not hidden so care- 
fully as in " Hide and Seek "), he calls out his name and the place 
where he has seen him ; as, for instance, " Harry ! behind the 
summer-house ! " If there is no mistake and the name is right 
(it is very often wrong, in which case the player does not move), 
Harry has to run out and try and catch the other before he reaches 
the base. 

Another way is for as many players to seek as to hide. In 



u8 



What Shall We Do Now? 



this case it is agreed beforehand as to how many of the seekers 
must be caught by the hiders for the game to be won. If the 
number is given at four and four are caught, the same side 
have the privilege of hiding again ; but if only three or a 
smaller number, then the seekers have won and it is they who 
hide next time. 



Chevy, or 
prisoner's 

base. 



There is no better running game than this. You first pick 
sides and then mark off the two camps and take up your station 
there. The field is arranged thus : — 



Place for 

A's 
prisoners. 



Place for 

B's 
prisoners. 



A's Camp. 



B's Camp. 



What Shall We Do Now? 119 

The game is opened by several of the A side running out to 
some point immediately in front of the two camps. When ready 
they call " Chevy." As many of the B side then start out to 
pursue them, each calling his particular quarry by name. The 
object of each A man is either to get back before the B man who 
is after him can catch him, or to tempt the B man into ground 
so near the A camp that he may be caught. In this aim he is 
helped by the fact that directly his B pursuer called his name 
and started out another A man probably called out the name of 
the B man and started to cut him off. No one is allowed to be 
pursued by two players at once. 

If caught, the A man has to go to the place reserved for B's 
prisoners. Directly he gets there he calls " Rescue " ; an A man 
will then call " Prisoner," and rush out to relieve him ; while a 
B runner is all ready to intercept this A rescuer if he can. 

The game is good both for runners who can keep it up a 
long time and for those who can make short, sharp dashes. The 
first named decoy the enemy out in pursuit, and the others hold 
themselves ready to dash across in front of the enemy's camp and 
cut off any one who is across the line. The rule as to shouting 
the name of the man you have marked down should be kept. 

If there is more than one prisoner they stand just touching 
hands, in a line which reaches as far as possible towards their 
own camp, so that the distance between the first prisoner and 
the rescuer may be shortened. Each new prisoner takes up his 
place at the back of this line, farthest from the camp. A prisoner 
is rescued by being touched. 

If one side is much weaker than the other a time comes when 
it is nearly all taken prisoner, with none to rescue except by leaving 
the camp undefended. Directly a camp is left undefended one of 
the enemy steps in and " crowns " it and claims the game. More 
often than not, however, a game of " Chevy " is left undecided. 
It does not matter in the least, for in this game the fun is more 
in playing than in winning. 



120 



What Shall We Do Now? 



French and 
English. 



Run across. 



For this game the ground must be divided by a path or line 
into two territories — French and English. At the further side of 
each territory a number of flags — handkerchiefs will do — must be 
placed at intervals. The players are then divided into the two 
nations, and the game consists in each side trying to get the 
flags from the other side, to guard its own, and to catch the 
enemy when he is off his own ground. Once a player sets foot 
upon the enemy's territory he must go on, but he cannot be 
caught if he has a flag in his hands. If he is caught he becomes 
a prisoner (as in Chevy), and is only released by being touched 
by one of his own party. A player cannot redeem a prisoner 
and take a flag at the same time. The game ends when all the 
flags of one side have been taken. 

This is rather rough. A line is drawn at each end of the 
playing place and one player is told off to stand between these 
lines. The object of the others is to run across, from base to 
base, without being caught by him : being caught meaning not 
merely being touched, as in " He," but being really held and 
stopped. Each one that is caught has to stay in the middle 
to help catch the others, until no one is left to run across at all. 

" Stagarino " is similar to " Run Across," except that all the 
players who are caught, and whose business it is to catch the 
others, join hands. Those that run across have therefore to 
avoid them or to try and break through the wall of arms. 

This is a change from ordinary racing. The competitors, 
instead of running against each other, see which can cover the 
most distance in a hop, a step, and a jump, or, say, three hops, 
three steps, and three jumps. It needs an umpire to watch very 
carefully that the step begins exactly where the hop left off and 
the jump where the step finished. 

Follow-my- This needs no explaining. It is nearly always good fun for 

leader. a w hile, and particularly so if the leader has original ideas. 



Stagarino. 



Hop, step, 
and jump. 



OUT FOR A WALK 



OUT FOR A WALK 

On country walks, where there is much to see, one should not 
be in need of ways to make the time seem shorter. And new 
walks in the town, or walks where there are interesting shop- 
windows, are not dull. But the same walks again and again can 
be very tiring ; and it is to help these that the methods which 
follow have been collected. 

A good walking pastime for two is for one to drive the other. 
Hoops are a great help (see page 128) and so are dolls' perambu- 
lators. But on many walks nothing of this kind is allowed, and 
one has to fall back on conversation. Telling stories in turns, 
or making up stories about passers-by, is useful, but it is not 
every one that is able to do this. 

In the Channel Islands visitors riding about in large Roadside 
wagonettes pass the time by playing a game called " Roadside whist. 
Whist." The people on the left seat of the carriage take the right 
side of the road, and those on the right seat take the left. The 
conductor teaches them the rules at the beginning of the drive. 
In our case it is better perhaps to make them for ourselves, to 
suit our own particular country. Let us suppose that — 



If you see 




A baby in arms you score 
A baby in a perambulator ,, 
A white horse ,, 
A ladder against a house ,, 


1 
3 
5 

2 



124 



What Shall We Do Now? 



A woman in a white apron 


you score . 


I 


A butcher's cart 


?) 


i 


A street gate 


>) 


2 


A postman 


>> 


5 



Then there should be a few things for which marks have to 
be taken off. Let us suppose that — 



If you see 

A pug dog 
A piebald horse 
An open gate 
A flock of sheep 
A soldier 



you lose 



2 

4 

2 

3 
io 



No matter what the score is, whichever side sees a cat on a 
window-ledge wins the game. 



Counting 
dogs. 



In a town there are other varieties of roadside whist for two 
players or sides. Counting dogs is one. In this game one 
takes all the streets leading from the left, the other all from 
the right. 



Guessing A good game (writes E. R.) while out for a walk is " when 

horses' tails, you see a horse coming, guess what colour his tail is before he 

can reach you, and then, whoever guesses right, the horse belongs 

to him." 



Shop- 
windows. 



Except in very dull streets shop -windows can be always 
entertaining. It is interesting to suppose you have so much 
money — say five shillings — to spend, or, if you like, an unlimited 
sum, and choose what you would buy as you pass each shop. 
E. H. writes-: — " One little girl used to suppose that she was the 
eldest of a large family whom she had to provide for, and was 
always on the look-out for things in the shops that would do for 
her younger brothers and sisters. For instance, if she decided 
that the family must have new winter clothes, she would first 



What Shall We Do Now? 125 

make up her mind how much she could afford and then 
price the things in the shop -windows. Sometimes she would 
set her heart on a particular pelisse for the baby, but could 
not pretend to buy it till she had seen whether it would leave 
her enough money for the other children. If she could get all 
the children dressed fairly nicely for the sum at her disposal she 
had all the satisfaction of a successful day's shopping. Some- 
times the clothes she wanted were too dear, and then she had to 
decide what was most necessary, what she could make at home, 
and so on." 

It is rather exciting for each player to take a side of the road Making 
where there are shops and see which can first complete a given sentences. 
sentence or word from the initial letters of the shopkeepers' names, 
Christian or surname. In fixing upon a sentence it is well to be 
careful not to have unusual letters, such as Q, or U, or J in it. 
If this is too difficult all the letters in the shopkeepers' names may 
be taken, or those in every other name. 

In Mrs. Meynell's book, The Children, one little girl on her Collecting 
walks collected Jones's — that is, shops with the name of Jones Jones's. 
over them. If any one else cared for this amusement there would 
be no need to stick to Jones. 

In this game you go through the alphabet, applying adjectives The love 
to your love. " I love my love with an A because he [or she] is so alphabet. 
admirable " ; "I love my love with a B because she is so beautiful," 
and so on, keeping to each letter as long as possible. On pages 
75 and J 6 will be found more difficult varieties, less suitable, 
perhaps, to be played when walking. 

Another alphabet game requires adjectives to be put before fhe cat 
the word cat. You begin with A. " An artful cat," one player alphabet. 
may say ; and the next, " An avaricious cat." Perhaps " An awful 



126 



What Shall We Do Now? 



cat," " An adhesive cat," " An arrogant cat," and " An attractive cat," 
will follow. A is kept up until no one can think of any more ; 
or — if you play in that way — until no one can think of any more 
while ten is being counted. Then B : " A bushy cat," " A bruised 
cat," " A bellicose cat," " A bumptious cat," and so on. 

Spelling. In this game the players each contribute a letter towards 

the spelling of a word, their object being never to be the one to 
complete it, but to force the next player to do so. Thus (with four 
players) the first player may say " p," and the next, thinking of 
" prim," may say " r," and the next, also thinking of " prim," may 
say " i." But the fourth player, running his thoughts quickly over 
possible words beginning with " pri," may light upon " prism " and 
say " s." This saves her, but puts the first player in danger, which 
is only averted by her thinking of " prison " and saying " o," in 
which case the next one is bound to be the loser. 



The Grand 
Mogul. 



A favourite old game which can be played as well on a walk 
as indoors is " The Grand Mogul." " The Grand Mogul does not 
like E's," says one player; "what will you give him for dinner?" 
Each player answers in turn, but none of the dishes named must 
contain the letter E, or the player either stands out, or (indoors) 
pays a forfeit. Thus, the answers to the question may be " apricots," 
" mutton," or " soup," but not " apples," " beef," or " porridge." 
On a walk the letter E might be persevered with until every one 
failed, and then the other vowels might be tried. 



Buz. This is a counting game in which, whenever the number -J 

comes, or a multiple of 7, such as 14, 21, 28, 35, or a number 
with 7 in it, such as 17, 27, 37, the player whose turn it is must 
say " Buz." Otherwise, out-of-doors, he loses a round or two, or, 
indoors, he must pay a forfeit. When 70 comes you say " Buz " in 
the ordinary way, but for 71, 72, y^, 74, 75, j6, 78, and 79 you 
say "Buz 1," "Buz 2," and so on. For jy you say "Buz Buz." 



What Shall We Do Now? 127 

In this game one player thinks of a word and gives the others Rhyming 
a rhyme to it. Thus, she may think of " coal," and she would lights. 
then say, " I've thought of a word that rhymes to pole." The 
others have to guess what the word is, vet not bluntly, as, "Is it 
mole ? " but like this : " Is it a little animal that burrows ? " " No," 
says the first player (who thus has a little guessing to do herself), 
" No, it is not mole." " Is it a small loaf of bread?" " No, it is 
not roll." " Is it something you eat bread and milk from ? " 
" No, it is not bowl." " Is it something you burn ? " " Yes, it is 
coal." The player who thought of " coal " then finds a word for 
the others to guess. 

The " Apprentice " is an old game for two or any number. One The 
says, " I apprenticed my son to a [mentioning a tradesman or apprentice. 
craftsman], and the first thing he sold [or made] was a [mentioning, 
by its initial only, something peculiar to the trade or craft]. The 
player who first guesses what the initial stands for then makes a 
similar remark. Thus, one player may say, " I apprenticed my 
son to a blacksmith, and the first thing he made was a D. K." 
(Door Knocker). Another, " I apprenticed my son to a grocer, and 
the first thing he sold was S. S." (Soft Soap). Another, " I 
apprenticed my son to a gardener, and the first thing he grew was 
a C. B." (Canterbury Bell). Another, " I apprenticed my son to 
a firework manufacturer, and the first thing he made was a G. R." 
(Golden Rain). 

This is a somewhat similar game bearing on geography. Towns and 
Suppose there are three players. One chooses a well-known products. 
place, say Boston, and begins, " I know a place where they sell 
boots," or whatever it may be beginning with B. The next 
player then knows what letter the place begins with and at once 
starts thinking of what place it is likely to be. Perhaps she 
settles on Birmingham, in which case she would say, to indicate 
that the second letter of the word was " I," " I know a place where 



128 What Shall We Do Now? 

they sell isinglass " (or icicles, or ingle-nooks). " No," says the first 
player, and the third therefore has to try. Perhaps she decides 
that the place is Brighton, in which case she will say, " I know a 
place where they sell rockets " (or rump-steak, or raisins). " No," 
says the first player again, and then it being her turn she gives 
them another light on the right word by saying, " I know a place 
where they sell oranges " (or oil, or ocarinas), and so on, until the 
place is spelt through. 

Other games. Other games suitable to be played when walking are " P's 
and Q's" (p. 77), "Suggestions" (p. 78), "Clumps" (p. 80), 
" How, When, and Where " (p. 82), " Coffee-Pot " (p. 82), " Throw- 
ing Light" (p. 83), and "Animal, Vegetable, and Mineral" 
(P- 83). 

Hoops. Iron hoops are the best, but it is a matter of taste whether a 

stick or a hook is used for them. If the stick is a stout one you 
get rid of the skidding noise made by the hook, and there is more 
satisfaction in beating a thing along than in, as it were, pushing 
it. It should be every one's aim to make the hoop do as much 
as possible with as little treatment as possible. After a very fast 
run it is equally interesting to see how slowly a hoop can be made 
to travel. To make it keep as straight a course as may be is very 
absorbing. Bought hoops can be strong, but to get exactly what 
one wants it is necessary to go to a blacksmith. A hoop 
standing as high as its owner, through which he can run to and fro 
as it rolls, is a possession which only a blacksmith or working- 
ironmonger can supply. 

Two in hoop Hoop games are few in number, and, with the exception of 
games. « Posting," not very exciting. With a large hoop and a small hoop 

■two players can learn to time the pace of a hoop very exactly 
and then bowl the little one through the big one as it rolls. 

There is also a game called "Turnpikes," in which several players 



What Shall We Do Now? 129 

and one hoop take part. The turnpikes, of which there are as 
many as the players, less the one who begins with the hoop, are 
two stones an inch or so apart, through which the hoop has to be 
bowled without touching, the faster the better. If it touches, or 
misses, the player who has been bowling it gives the hoop to the 
turnpike holder, who then tries his fortune with it, keeping it until 
he fails at any of the stones. 

A very good hoop game for several players is " Posting." The Hoop 
idea is that a distance is to be covered (as in the old posting posting. 
days) as quickly as possible by relays of riders, and the first thing 
to do is to station four posts at various points along the route. 
Then, when they are ready, each with hoop-stick or hook, the 
player with the hoop starts and bowls it as fast as he can to the 
first post. Immediately it reaches him that post takes it on, 
without stopping the hoop for an instant, to the next, while the 
first one takes the place left by him ; and so on, as often round 
the ring as you like. When there is a time-keeper and you post 
against time it is even better fun. The advantage of standing 
in a large circle is that the hoop need never be checked ; but if 
the circle is impossible, you can go up and down a long line, with 
checks only at each end. 



IN THE TRAIN 



IN THE TRAIN 

A LONG journey in a train — say from London to Penzance — 
can, even if you have a window seat, be very tiring ; but without 
a window it is sometimes almost unendurable. The hints which 
follow are mostly adapted for two players, but one or two will 
be found useful if you are alone with no one to play with. 

A map of the country which the train passes through is an The value of 
interesting thing to have on a long journey. It tells you the a ma P- 
names of the hills and villages you see from the windows, and 
you can very likely fix the exact moment that you cross from 
one county into another. 

Two persons, each with a window at a different end of the Railway 
carriage, can have good competitions. They can agree beforehand com P etl tions. 
that the game is to go to whichever of them sees the more horses, 
or cows, or sheep, or men driving, or bicyclists, or rabbits, between 
two given points, say one station and the next. It is not necessary 
to be at different ends of the carriage ; in fact a new kind of 
excitement comes in if both are at the same window or at windows 
at the same end, because then in addition to seeing the things 
there is the fun of not letting the other think you have seen them. 

This is a kind of " Roadside Whist," the rules for which will Railway 
be found on page 123. As has been said there, most players will w ? nsf - 



134 



What Shall We Do Now? 



prefer to draw up their own scoring table ; but the following 
things and figures may be found useful as a foundation : — 
If you see — 





A church it counts 




3 




A field with sheep , 






3 




A field with cows , 






3 




A field with horses , 






4 




A field with rooks , 






2 




A field with rabbits , 






3 




A man , 






i 




A woman , 






2 




A stile , 






4 




An open gate , 






5 




A shut gate , 






2 




An ordinary dog , 






2 




A sheep dog , 






6 




A horse and cart , 






5 




A rick , 






2 




A pond , 






4 


If you 


see — 




Beecham's pills you lose . . i 




Carter's pills , 






I 




Pears' soap , 






3 




A waving handkerchief , 






6 




A horse and cart , 






i 




A pond , 






5 




A rick , 






i 




Children on a gate , 






IO 



Whichever side first sees a black sheep wins, no matter what 
the score is. Otherwise the scorer of the greatest number of 
marks is the winner. In " Railway Whist " it is necessary for the 
players to be at different ends of the carriage. 



Statio7i 
observation. 



A variety of " Observation " (see page 90) can be played on 
journeys. While the train is stopping at a station every one looks 
out of the window and notices as many things as possible. When 
the train starts again each writes as many of these things as he 
can remember, and the one with the best list wins. 



What Shall We Do Now? 



135 



In most carriages a map of the line, with all the stations Games with 
marked, is now fixed. If you have a watch it is rather interesting a watch* 
to guess the exact time at which the train will reach the next 
station. The one who guesses nearest becomes the holder of the 
watch until the next guess is decided. Other things can be done 
with a watch, particularly if it has a second hand. Guessing the 
length of a minute is rather interesting, or timing the speed of 
the train by noting how long it takes to go between the little 
quarter-mile posts at the side of the line. 

It is well to take a pencil and paper when you go on Pencils and 
a long journey. If the train rocks a good deal it is interesting P a P er - 
to see which can write a sentence most clearly. There is a way 
of balancing oneself on the edge of the seat and holding the 
paper on one's knees which makes for steadiness. It is never 
too shaky for " Noughts and Crosses." 

" Noughts and Crosses " is playable anywhere ; all that is Noughts 
needed is a piece of paper — a newspaper will do — and a pencil, and crosses. 
The framework is first made. Thus : — 



One player chooses crosses and the other noughts, and the one 
who is to begin puts his mark — say, a cross — in one of the nine 
squares. The other puts a nought in another of the squares, and 



i3 6 



What Shall We Do Now ? 



so it goes on until either three noughts or three crosses are in a 
straight line in any direction. Thus, this is the end of a game 
in which noughts played first and crosses won : — 



X 






X 








X 








But it often happens that the game is drawn, as in this 
example, in which noughts played first : — 



X 













X 


X 


X 






Paper " French and English," another game for two, belongs to the 

French a?id family of " Noughts and Crosses," and can be played anywhere 
knglisk. anc j Qn an y scra p Q f p a p er> You first decide which will be English 
and which French. Each player then takes one -half of the 
paper and covers it with, say, sixty dots. It does not matter 
how many, but there must be the same number on each side. 
Then in a corner each draws a cannon, or draws something that 



What Shall We Do Now? 137 

can be called a cannon for the purposes of the game. You then 
decide how many turns you will have. The game is played by 
placing the pencil on the cannon, shutting your eyes, and dashing 
the pencil across your enemy's side of the paper, straight or 
crooked, in any direction you like. Then you open your eyes, 
count how many dots the pencil line has passed through, and 
score them down. The player who, at the end of the number 
of turns settled upon, has gone through the greatest number of 
dots is the winner. 

A box of letters is an unfailing help to pass the time. A " Letters " 
word will sometimes keep a player puzzling for hours, which is, an d wo ^ s - 
of course, too long. Lord Palmerston is said to have given the 
Queen a tremendous task with " Betrayal." " Pomegranate," 
" Orchestra," and " Scythe " are good examples of difficult words. 

You can also take words and sentences seen on the journey, 
such as " Wait till the train stops," and " To seat, five persons," 
and " Pears' Soap," and see how many words they will make. 
A more difficult task is to make anagrams of advertisements. 
" Lipton's Teas," for instance, makes " Taste on, lips." 

The word-making game has been adapted into a writing " Letters " 
competition. Each of the company is handed a card which has withapenal* 
been prepared for the purpose beforehand by having names of a 
dozen animals, or towns, or flowers, or birds, or whatever it may 
be, written on it in what might be called twisted spelling. For 
instance, " butterfly " might be spelled thus, " trelbyfut," and " Man- 
chester " thus, " Tramschene." A certain amount of time is given, 
and the winner is the player who has found out most words therein. 
A version of this game is to dot out all the letters of the word 
except the first and the last. You would put " Elephant " on 

the paper thus, E t, and tell your companion it was the 

name of an animal. Or you might write " Peppermint " thus, 
P t, and tell him it was the name of a sweet. 



138 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Hanging. This is a more difficult game, very suitable for a tiring journey. 

The two players sit side by side, and one of them dots out on a 
piece of paper the words of a proverb or well-known line of poetry. 
Thus, " I met a little cottage girl " would be set down in this 
way : — 



Underneath this line a small gallows is erected. Thus 



The game is for the other player to discover the line. In 
order to do this he is permitted to ask his opponent for letters. 
Perhaps he will begin by asking, " May I have an ' a,' " because 
there are few sentences that do not contain an " a." His opponent 
will then put the first " a " in. Thus : — 

. ... a 

Then perhaps another " a " will be asked for, and the line will 
come out thus : — 

. ... a a 

Then perhaps an " e " : — ■ 

. .e. a a 

So far all has gone favourably with the guesser, and the 
gallows is still untouched. But perhaps he will now venture to 
ask for a consonant (which is much more risky than a vowel), and 
will say, " May I have an ' s ' ? " As there is no " s " in the line 



What Shall We Do Now? 



139 



the reply will be against it, and the opponent will at once append 
to the rope of the gallows a small head. Thus : — 



This means that the guesser has lost one out of a possible 
six points, the others being his body, his two arms and two legs. 
For each letter he asks for in vain he loses one of these, and 
when all have gone he has lost the game too. Sometimes, how- 
ever, the quotation can be detected very quickly. 

Many games usually kept for the house can be played in the Other games. 
train ; but it depends largely on whether or not there are strangers 
in the carriage. " Old Maid " (see p. 69) is a good train game ; 
so is "Buz" (see p. 126) ; and for a carriageful of friends, "Up 
Jenkyns" (see p. 16). A " Fox and Geese" board, or a draught- 
board, will help to pass the time. 

Food is a great help towards shortening a long journey. A Food. 
little picnic every hour, if it is permitted, is something not too 
distant to look forward to, and it may take up ten minutes each 
time. A larger meal all at once may, of course, be more con- 
venient, but, if not, the hourly picnic is worth trying. 



PLAYING ALONE, AND GAMES 
IN BED 



PLAYING ALONE, AND GAMES IN BED 

Among the best toys with which to play alone are " Bricks," 
"Soldiers," "Balls," "Battledore and Shuttlecock," and "Dolls." 
No one needs any hints as to how to play with them ; but it 
might be remarked that ordinary bought bricks being rarely what Bricks. 
they should be, it is better, if possible, to get a carpenter to make 
some of a more useful size, say four inches long, one and a half 
inches wide, and an inch thick. With a hundred of these you 
can do almost anything in the way of building, and if made of 
tough wood they ought to last for ever. 

A good game with soldiers is to see how many shots are Soldiers. 
required from a cannon to kill the whole regiment. The cannon 
can either be a spring cannon, or a pop-gun, or a pea-shooter, or 
a filliped marble. Just at first it is almost impossible not to clear 
off two or three men with each shot, but later it becomes more 
difficult and exciting. 

With a box of ninepins very much the same game can be Ninefii?ts. 
played. In wet weather, in the hall, a box of large ninepins is 
invaluable. 

Of course bricks and soldiers and ninepins, as well as balls 
(see p. 107), are more interesting when more than one person plays ; 
but one can pass the time very well with them. 

Where toys become tedious, games have to be made up ; and Bruce* s 
in making up games no outside help is needed. At the same h eart - 



144 



What Shall We Do Now? 



time, some games which E. H. describes may perhaps supply 
a hint or two. " One little girl," she writes, " used to find endless 
joy in pretending to be Douglas bearing the heart of Bruce to 
the Holy Land. A long stick in the right hand represented his 
spear ; a stone in the left hand was the casket containing Bruce's 
heart. If the grown-ups stopped to talk with some one they met, 
or if there was any other excuse for running on ahead, the little girl 
would rush forward waving her stick and encouraging her men 
(represented by a big dog), and, after hurling her stone as far 
forward as possible, and exclaiming, ' Lead on, brave heart,' she 
would cast her spear in the same direction in a last effort against 
the Moors, and then pretend to fall dead to the ground." This 
little girl had found the story of Bruce in Tales of a Grandfather, 
by Sir Walter Scott. Almost every book will yield people and 
events to play at. 

The hotel Another little girl whom E. H. knew " once spent a short time 

camps. j n a hotel, and while there divided the other people into camps 

according to the floor on which they had rooms. The designs in 
the windows on the various floors represented the badges or 
heraldic signs of each camp. For instance, one window (they 
were of coloured glass) had a border with eagles, another had 
gryphons, another lions, and so on. If she met some one of 
another floor coming in or going out of the hotel, it represented 
the meeting of two rival bands. If she actually found herself in 
the lift with them, it was a dangerous encounter, in which, if they 
got out first, she had driven them off the field, but if she got out 
first it was she who was in retreat. If two people of different 
floors were seen talking together, a truce had been declared, 
and so on." 



Block city. The little book called A Child's Garden of Verses, by R. L, 

Stevenson, has several poems which describe how a lonely little 
boy used to play. Thus (in " Block City ") : — 



What Shall We Do Now? 145 

Let the sofa be mountains, the carpet a sea, 

There I'll establish a city for me, 

A kirk and a mill, and a palace beside, 

And a harbour as well where my vessels may ride. 

And (in " The Land of Story-Books ") : — Story-books. 

Now, with my little gun, I crawl 
All in the dark along the wall, 
And follow round the forest track 
Away behind the sofa back. 

There, in the night, where none can spy, 
All in my hunter's camp I lie, 
And play at books that I have read 
Till it is time to go to bed. 

That is ordinary play. There is also a poem describing play The bed 
in bed : — boat - 

My bed is like a little boat ; 

Nurse helps me in when I embark ; 
She girds me in my sailor's coat 
And starts me in the dark. 

When more than one sleep in the same room, the time before Thinking 
sleep can be very interesting. Many games which have already g ames f or 
been described are suitable for bed, such as " Telling Stories " 
(p. 80), "I Love my Love" (p. 125), "Spelling" (p. 126), "The 
Grand Mogul" (p. 126), "Rhyming Lights" (p. 127), "The 
Apprentice" (p. 127), "Towns and Products" (p. 127), "Sugges- 
tions " (p. 78), and " Clumps," adapted (p. 80). 

On this subject B. R. L. writes : — " We made a list, which was Games by 
stuck on the wall with a different game for each night. One was rote - 
1 1 Love my Love with an A ' (see p. 125), which we steadily made 
up all through the alphabet. Another was ' Initials,' in which 
you take turns in saying the initials of people you know, while the 
other guesses the names. Another was ' Twenty Questions,' in 

L 



146 What Shall We Do Now? 

which one thinks of something that has to be guessed as quickly 
as possible, only ' yes ' and ' no ' being given as answers. One 
very girlish game was like this : Suppose you had a little girl 
with golden hair and blue eyes, and she was going on a visit to 
London, what sort of frocks would you buy her ? " 

The E. H. recommends for girls the " Imaginary Family " game. 

imaginary This is her description of it : — " First you have to settle the 
family. names, ages, and characters of your family, and then you can 

carry on their adventures every night. One little girl who was 
devoted to books of travel, and who loved to pore over maps and 
charts, used to travel with her family every night in whatever 
country she happened to be interested in at the time. Thus she 
and a favourite son, Pharaoh, travelled for a long time in 
California, crossing every mountain-range by the proper passes, 
exploring every valley, tracing each river to its source, and so on. 
In the same way she travelled with her family in Central and 
South America, the Malay Peninsula, and the South Sea Islands. 
Another little girl who was very fond of adventure stories carried 
her family through all sorts of perils by land and sea. At one 
time they were shipwrecked and lived like the Swiss Family 
Robinson. At another time they were exploring Central Africa, 
and travelled about with three years' supplies in a gigantic caravan 
with fifty elephants. Yet another little girl had for her family 
any characters out of books that particularly fascinated her. 
Thus, when she was reading The Heroes, her family was reduced 
to one daughter, Medea, a rather terrible daughter, who needed a 
great deal of propitiating, and for whose sake all other children 
had to be given up. Later on, when the same child was reading 
Tales of a Grandfather, her family consisted of three sons, Wallace, 
Bruce, and Douglas. (It is rather a good thing, by the way, to 
have a very heroic family, especially if you are at all inclined to 
be afraid in the dark, as they help to keep one's courage up.) 
Two little girls, who lived in a clergyman's household, had an 



What Shall We Do Now? 147 

imaginary poor family they were interested in, and they planned 
about them every night, — how much the father earned, what their 
rent was, whether the mother oughtn't to take in washing, whether 
the eldest girl could be spared to go into service, and so on. 
When they weren't allowed to talk at night they carried the 
family history on independently and compared notes in the 
morning." 

Making plans is always interesting, but particularly so just Making 
before Christmas, when presents have to be arranged for. plans. 

The favourite way is to imagine that you see a flock of sheep For getting 
scrambling through a gap in the hedge, and to count them. A to siee P- 
variety of this is a desert with a long train of camels very far off, 
coming slowly near, and then passing and gradually disappearing 
in the far distance. Counting a million is also a good way. 

A good thing to do in bed when getting better from an illness Games for 
is to cut out pictures for scrapbooks. Any kind of cutting out convales- 
can be done, as the scissors and paper are very light and do not, cen s ' 
therefore, tire the arms. " Patience " (see page 66) is also a good 
bed game, because it needs very little thought. 

In A Child's Garden of Verses there is a poem called "The Bed soldiers. 
Land of Counterpane," which tells what a little boy did when he 
was ill, lying among the pillows with his toys : — 

And sometimes for an hour or so 
I watched my leaden soldiers go, 
With different uniforms and drills, 
Among the bed-clothes, through the hills : 

And sometimes sent my ships in fleets 
All up and down among the sheets, 
Or brought my trees and houses out 
And planted cities all about. 



148 



What Shall We Do Now? 



China Dolls are, of course, perfectly at home in bed when you are 

animals. {\\ } but there is even more interest in a menagerie. On this 
subject it would be difficult to do better than quote from a letter 
from E. M. R., who has 590 china animals, mostly in families and 
all named. She began this magnificent collection with a family 
of monkeys. 

The mother was called Sally, her eldest son Mungo, the next Pin-ceri, 
another, eating a nut, Jock, and the youngest, a sweet little girl monkey, Ness. 
I was soon given a family of three foxes, Reynard, Brushtail, and Whitepad, 
and from that time to the present my collection has been growing. I soon 
had enough to fill a shelf in a cabinet, and I turned my doll's-house into a 
boarding-school for the little animals with a big pig as headmaster. But when 
my collection rose to 400 animals, I had too many children to be all boarders 
at the school, so some had to be day-scholars, and the headmaster was changed 
to a green frog who swam beautifully, and who was assisted by two swans, a 
duck, a fish, two crocodiles, and a seal, who all swam. Another frog taught 
the children swimming by tying a piece of string round their bodies, and 
dangling them in the water from the edge of a basin. 

The animals' abode was now changed, and they were put into a large 
cabinet containing six small shelves and one big one. . 

I called the big shelf a town, and the rest villages. The town was called 
Weybridge ; the village where the birds lived, Airsbury ; and that where the' 
dogs were, Canistown. The rest had various other names. At this time an 
important addition was made to the collection, for a big lion was given me, 
which I immediately created king; then came a queen and four princesses, and 
shortly after a crown prince, another prince, and three more little princesses. 

The royal family was allowed a village all to itself, which was called 
Kingston, and was given five servants, two nurses, a footman, a housemaid, 
and a cook. 

As I had now two families of several of the kinds of animals, I determined 
that they should be married, so, nominating Sally's husband rector, I had 
several weddings. I built a church with some bricks I had, and formed a 
procession up the aisle, to the Wedding March, played on an American organ. 

First came the bride and bridegroom, then the best man and the brides- 
maids, and last the children of the animals who were to be married, two and 
two. When the ceremony was over, I marched them all back to their places 
on the shelf. 

I now made eight laws, and cqpied them out in an exercise-book, together 
with the names of all the animals, the number of men, women, boys, and girls, 
and the number of married and single families. 



What Shall We Do Now? 149 

I had had several little separate china animals given me, belonging to none 
of my families, so I made a law that if any family of their kind came to the 
collection they must adopt these little orphans. 

I also made two acting companies, one of big animals, and one for the 
children, with a boar-hound called Sir Philip of Ravenswood for the manager 
of the first, and a little black and white kid, named Tim, for manager of the 
second, and at the Christmas of the same year that I formed the two companies 
I had two plays, the children acting " Hansel and Gretel," and the big animals 
■'' The Yeomen of the Guard." 

Being now unable to get any fresh families of small animals, I started a 
collection of big china animals, and soon had thirty-five, among whom were a 
Jersey bull and cow, another brown bull and a brown and white cow, two 
beautiful horses, several dogs, two donkeys, and two goats. 

These I kept apart from the small animals, in another cupboard ; but I 
still kept the lion king over them as well, and gave them two big animals, 
a bloodhound and a St. Bernard, as governors over them. 

Among the small animals I had a very learned-looking pig called Orsino, 
whom I made doctor, while an old bulldog, Dimboona, to whom I had been 
obliged to give two wooden legs, was Prime Minister. I also had a treasurer, 
a rent collector, a steward, and an under-steward. I also made a young boar- 
hound, called Panther, the son ■ of Sir Philip, keeper of the stables, which 
consisted of ninety-two horses which I had made. 

And this brings the narrative of the growth of my china animal collection 
up to the present time, when I have 555 small animals and 35 big ones, 590 
in all. 



AT THE SEASIDE 



AT THE SEASIDE 

The first thing to do on reaching the seaside is to find out when it Low tide. 
is low tide. In each twelve hours low tide comes twenty minutes 
later, and knowing this you can arrange your days accordingly. 
Nothing is so saddening as to run down the beach in the belief 
that the tide is going out and to find that it is coming in. 

To boys who wear knickerbockers the preparations for paddling Paddling. 
are very simple ; but girls are not so fortunate. Lewis Carroll 
(who wrote Alice in Wonderland} took their difficulties so seriously 
that whenever he went to the seaside to stay he used to have 
with him a packet of safety-pins for the use of any children that 
seemed to be in need of them. This piece of thoughtfulness on 
his part might determine you to carry them for yourselves. 

In paddling, a nurse is both a help and a hindrance. In so 
far as she will mind your things and carry towels she is a help ; 
but the fact that her presence makes it necessary for you to come 
out of the water at the same place at which you went in is a 
hindrance to true adventure. On the other hand, if she is not 
there you will probably have to carry your boots and stockings 
round j'our neck or in your hands, which is very hampering ; and 
not having any towel, and handkerchiefs being so small and 
quickly soaked, you will not get your feet properly dried or 
cleaned of sand, and this will make the walk home very uncom- 
fortable. One thing that the nurse, or whoever is guarding 
clothes, ought to be most particular about is to stay in the same 
spot all the time. The discovery that your things are not where 
you left them can spoil a whole morning. 



154 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Once ready, the walk, or hobble, over the stones to the sand 
begins. When there is a nurse she will perhaps tell you to keep 
on your shoes until the stones are done, and leave them there for 
her to fetch. Another way is to throw them back to her ; but 
unless you throw very well this will probably mean just as much 
trouble to her as fetching them. If you have a walking-stick or 
a strong spade you can, even with naked feet, get over the stones 
fairly comfortably. A walking-stick, in fact, is rather a good 
thing to take into the water ; you can push it into quicksands, 
and throw it out to sea and wade to it, and use it to hook in 
your boat with. 

Sailing a good boat in the sea is not the best fun, but 
there is a kind of boat which is very easily made as you sit on 
the beach, and which is useful to play with when paddling, 
and afterwards to throw stones at. You take a piece of cork for 
the hull. Cut a line down the middle underneath and wedge a 
strip of slate in for a keel to keep her steady. Fix a piece of drift- 
wood for a mast, and thread a piece of paper on that for a sail. 

When paddling it is just as well not to get your clothes wet 
if you can help it. Clothes that are made wet with sea- water, 
which probably has a little sand in it, are as uncomfortable as 
crumbs in bed. There is no reason why you should get them 
wet if you paddle wisely. Sitting among the rocks, running 
through the water, and jumping the little crisping waves are 
the best ways to get soaked. Rounding a groyne often leads to 
a soaking too, because at the end of each groyne there is a hollow 
which (unless you climb the groyne) you must wade through or 
go into deepish water to avoid. 

Seaside places where there are rocks and a great stretch of 
sand are the best. Rocks make paddling twice as exciting, 
because of the interesting things in the little pools — the anemones, 
and seaweeds, and shells, and crabs, and shrimps, and perhaps 
little fish. Sometimes these pools are quite hot. To enjoy the 
rocks properly you want a net. 



What Shall We Do Now? 155 

To make full use of the sands a spade is necessary and a pail Sand castles, 
important. The favourite thing to make is a castle and a moat, an(i ot ^ er 
and although the water rarely is willing to stay in the moat it * 

is well to pour some in. The castle may also have a wall round 
it and all kinds of other buildings within the wall. Abbeys are 
also made, and great houses with carefully arranged gardens, and 
villages, and churches. Railways with towns and stations here 
and there along the line are easily made, and there is the fun of 
being the train when the line is finished. The train is a good 
thing to be, because the same person is usually engine-driver and 
guard as well. Collisions are interesting now and then. The 
disadvantage of a railway on crowded sands is that passers-by 
injure the line and sometimes destroy, by a movement of the foot, 
a whole terminus ; it is therefore better at small watering-places 
that few people have yet discovered. If an active game is wanted 
as well as mere digging and building, a sand fort is the best 
thing to make, because then it has to "be held and besieged, and 
perhaps captured. In all sand operations stones are useful to 
mark boundaries. 

Burying one another in the sand is good at the time, but 
gritty afterwards. 

Seaweed and shells make good collections, but there is no Seaweed. 
use in carrying live fish home in pails. The fun is in catching 
the fish, not in keeping it ; and some landladies dislike having 
the bath-room used as an aquarium. On wet days seaweed can 
be stuck on cards or in a book. The best way to get it to spread 
out and not crease on a card, is to float the little pieces in a basin 
and slip the card underneath them in the water. When the 
seaweed has settled on it, take the card out and leave it to dry. 
The seaweed will then be found to be stuck, except perhaps in 
places here and there, which can be made sure by inserting a 
little touch of gum. It is the smaller, coloured kinds of seaweed 
that one treats in this way ; and it is well to leave them for a day 
in the sun before washing and preparing, as this brings out their 



156 What Shall We Do Now? 

colour. The ordinary large kind of seaweed is useful as a barometer. 
A piece hung by the door will tell when rain is coming by 
growing moist and soft. 

Shell work. A good use for little shells is to cover small boxes with them. 

The shells are arranged in a simple pattern and fastened on with 
seccotine (see p. 199). If the shells are not empty and clean, boil 
them, and scrub them with an old tooth-brush. 

Good seaside So many interesting things are to be seen at the seaside that 

friends. there is no need to be always at play. Fishermen will come in 

with their boats, which need pulling up ; or a net that has been 
dropped near the shore will be drawn in from the beach, and you 
can perhaps help. If the town is not merely a watering-place 
but also a seaport, it is, of course, better, because then there will 
be the life of the harbour to watch. To be friends with a light- 
house man is almost as good a thing as can happen ; and if there 
is both a lighthouse and a ship-builder's you could hardly be 
more fortunate. 

The use of That there will be coastguards is, however, quite certain, and 

coastguards. y OU m ay perhaps get to know one properly. If you do, ask him 
to teach you how to tie good knots. It is a very useful thing to 
know. He will show you the difference between a granny and a 
right knot, and once you have learned this you will never tie a 
granny again. A coastguard is also useful in letting you look 
through his telescope and in describing the different ships and 
rigging that you see. 

Donkeys. Donkey rides are rarely quite so good as you hope they will 

be. It is only now and then that the saddle is comfortable, or 
the reins of the least use, or the stirrups the right length ; and 
the donkey scrapes your leg against the wall or a post much too 
often. Donkey boys are also too fond of breaking a bargain. 
In hiring donkeys, the donkey boy's idea of what the time is 
should always be compared with a clock or watch and the differ- 
ence pointed out to him. 

Niggers. Now and then niggers ought to have a penny. 



IN THE COUNTRY 



IN THE COUNTRY 



This chapter has been written more for readers who live in a 
town and visit the country only during the holidays than for 
those whose home is always there. Regular country dwellers do 
not need to be told many of the things that follow ; but none the 
less there may be a few to find them useful. The principal 
special attractions of the country are — 



In the spring 
„ June . 
„ July . 
„ August 

,, September 



Birds' nests. 

Bee-swarming and hay-making. 
Sheep-washing and shearing. 
Early windfalls and harvest. 
Blackberries, nuts, hops, mushrooms, 
and squirrels. 



The most important thing to do when staying at a farm- Making 
house is to make friends with the principal people. The principal f rienc ^ s - 
people are those in charge of the chickens and ducks, the cows 
and the horses. Perhaps there will also be an odd man and a 
boy. The way to make friends is to be as little trouble as 
possible. 

On reaching the farm, it is well to make a journey of discovery, Exploration. 
in order to learn where everything is. The more one knows 
about the things in store — the size of the barn, the height of the 
hayricks, the number of horses, the name of the watch-dog, the 
position and character of the pond, and so forth — the simpler will 
it be, on going to bed, to make plans for the visit. Fi?idine 

The farmer's wife usually has charge of the chickens and hens' eggs. 



160 What Shall We Do Now? 

ducks, but very often it is her daughter or a servant. No matter 
who it is, as soon as she is convinced that you will be careful and 
thorough she will let you hunt for eggs. This is very exciting, 
because hens have a way of laying in nests in the wood and all 
kinds of odd places, hoping that no one will find them and 
they will thus be able to sit and hatch out their chickens. The 
hay in the stable is a favourite spot, and under the faggot pile, 
and among the long grass in the hedge. Sometimes one over- 
looks a nest for nearly a week and then finds three or four eggs 
in it, one of them quite warm. This is a great discovery. Just 
at first it is easy to be taken in by the china nest-eggs, and to 
run indoors in triumph with one in your hand. But the farmer's 
wife will laugh and send you back with it, and the mistake is not 
likely to be made again. After a while one gets to know the 
hens personally, and to know the noise which means that they 
have just laid. Sometimes, if a hen is going to lay just as 
you come to her nest, she will run off clucking and screaming 
and lay the egg on the ground. 
Ducks' eggs. Ducks' eggs, which are rather larger than hens' eggs, and 

pale green in colour, are often more difficult to find. They have 
to be hunted for in the grass by the pond. 
Feedi?ig the The farmer's wife also lets her visitors feed the chickens if they 

chtckens. are g en tle with them and thoughtful. It needs quite a little 
thought, because if you throw down the grain without thinking, 
many of the weaker and less greedy ones will get nothing, and 
many of the stronger and greedier ones will get too much. After 
a few handfuls you can see which are the weaklings, and after that 
you can favour them accordingly. A greedy hen is so very greedy 
that she will always, whatever you do, get more than her share ; 
but it is possible to snub her a little. The very little chickens 
and ducklings do not have grain, but soft food, which is put in a 
saucer and placed inside the coop. It is after they have finished 
eating that they can most easily be picked up, but one must be 
very careful not to squeeze them. 



What Shall We Do Now? 161 

If the farmer's wife makes her own butter there will be an The dairy. 
opportunity to help her in the dairy among the wide red pans of 
milk and the cool cleanness. Perhaps she will let you use the 
skimmer. Turning the churn is not much fun except just when 
the butter forms. 

Another thing that the farmer's wife will very likely let you Bee- 
do is to " ring " the bees when they swarm. " Ringing " the bees swarming. 
is beating a tin pot or a shovel with a stick close to the swarm. 
The sound is supposed, by some country-people, to stupefy or 
please them, and thus check any desire to fly off; but many bee- 
masters think it useless. Very likely the practice has come down 
from the old days before sugar was cheap — when every one wanted 
honey for sweetening purposes and therefore most persons kept 
bees — and has lost its true meaning on the way. " Ringing " 
probably was then meant to announce to the neighbours that 
your bees were swarming, so that it would be more easy to claim 
them if they strayed to another's ground. 

Bees swarm on hot days in the early summer, usually in a 
tree, but sometimes in a room, if the window is open, and often 
in a bush, quite close to the ground. When they swarm in a 
tree you would think a black snowstorm was raging all around 
it. Every moment the cluster of bees grows larger and larger, 
until, after half an hour or so, it is quiet. Then the swarm has 
to be taken. This is the most interesting part, but you must be 
careful not to be too near in case an accident occurs and the bees 
become enraged and sting you. The following is part of a 
description of the taking of a swarm of bees in a neighbour's 
garden last summer : — 

When all the bees had at last settled, Mrs. Peters, in the absence of 
Mr. Peters, sent for Mr. Cronk. Mr. Cronk lives close by, and is also a 
bee-master. Meanwhile she bustled about the kitchen making a mixture of 
cold tea and sugar. This being for the refreshment of the swarm, it was 
spread on the inside of an empty straw hive. 

Mr. Cronk came at once, armed with a net, which he placed over his 
head. It made him look like a diver, and he laughed hugely when the 

M 



162 What Shall We Do Now? 

comparison was made, and the water-butt offered to him for an experimental 
descent. Mr. Cronk's hands were bare, although he also had the offer of a 
pair of gloves. Bees couldn't sting through his hands, he said, and it was 
not difficult to believe him. The man who invented the saying, " There's 
nothing like leather," had never seen Mr. Cronk's hands. Mr. Cronk placed 
a ladder carefully against the pear tree, and then, taking the empty hive 
in his arm, he climbed up. He held the hive with one hand immediately 
under the cluster of bees, and with the other he shook the branch. At once 
they fell in, and he hastened down and turned the hive over upon a piece of 
matting. The bees buzzed furiously within, while stragglers flew all around 
Mr. Cronk's head and body, and many settled on him. But he heeded 
nothing ; all he did was to kneel beside the hive and place his ear first on 
one side, and then the other, straining to hear if the queen bee was within. 
" I think she is," he said at length, "although," he added, looking up into the 
tree again, " she may be there." Following his glance, we saw that another 
cluster of bees was forming on the branch. " I'll get them down directly," 
said Mr. Cronk, who was now closely examining the bees that were entering 
the hive by the little hole. " You've got a lot of cross-bred ones, Mrs. Peters," 
he said. " I've got a tidy few, but you've got more than me. I mean these 
with only one gold band round 'em. The true-bred ones has two gold bands." 
Then Mr. Cronk went into the tree again, and collected the second swarm, 
which he added to the others. "There must be a couple o' pounds o' bees," 
he said thoughtfully. 

Mrs. Peters, it might be added, has several hives. 

" I like horses and I like dogs," she once said, " but of all animals I think 
I like bees best." She caves for them like a mother. One afternoon in the 
winter she came into our sitting-room, which opens directly on the garden, 
and, after moving mysteriously about by the window for a while, " I've come 
for one of my bees," she explained ; " I want to put him back in the hive 
again," and so s*aying she picked up the little brown body from a corner of 
the pane, and bore it away. Could there be a prettier instance of solicitude ? 

If the farmer has the new wooden hives with a glass covering 
he will very likely let you peep in and see the bees at work. 
Before doing this you certainly ought to read something about 
their exceedingly wonderful ways. One of the best books is Sir 
John Lubbock's (Lord Avebury's) Ants, Bees, and Wasps, but 
most encyclopaedias contain very interesting articles on the 
subject. 



What Shall We Do Now? 163 

The man who looks after the cows is a very valuable friend. The cows. 
He may even let you try to milk, which only specially gifted 
children ever succeed in doing at all well ; and he will teach you 
the cows' names (in some farms these are painted up over each 
stall — Primrose, Lightfoot, Sweetlips, Clover, and so on) ; and 
perhaps he will give you the task of fetching them from the 
meadow at milking time. • 

In a general way sheep are not very interesting, especially Sheep. 
in low- lying farms. On the South Downs they are better, 
particularly as you may then see sheep-dogs in perfect training : 
heading them off, bringing in the stragglers, steering the flock 
through a gap, and, after the carrying out of each order, bounding 
back to the shepherd with every sign of self-satisfaction. But 
though sheep, as a rule, are dull, there are two occasions when 
they are not — at sheep-washing and sheep -shearing. The 
washers stand up to their knees, or even their waists, in the 
brook, in oilskin clothes, and seizing the struggling sheep one by 
one by the wool, plunge them into the water. Shearing is a 
finer art ; but the sheep is hardly less uncomfortable. He has 
to be thrown into various positions (on his back for one, and with 
his head between the shearer's knees for another), while the shears 
clip-clop all over him. The wool is not taken off in scraps, as 
our hair is at the barber's, but the whole fleece is removed in 
one huge piece. 

It may be that Tom (let us suppose his name is Tom ; it very The horses. 
often is) also has charge of the horses, and possibly he will like 
your help with them too. Sometimes, when going out with the 
waggon, he will let you ride part of the way with him and perhaps 
hold the reins now and then, and sometimes -there will be a chance 
of riding a quiet horse for a little way. 

It may be that while you are at the farm the day will come The 
for having the horses shod, and Tom will take you with them blacksmith. 
to the blacksmith. The blacksmith is of course a very important 
person to be friends with ; and people are very fortunate if their 



1 64 What Shall We Do Now? 

lodgings in the country are close to a smithy. Some blacksmiths 
permit their friends to stand right inside the smithy, instead of 
just at the door, where strangers have to stay. Perhaps the 
blacksmith will ask you to blow his bellows while he is making 
a horse-shoe, and it may happen that if he has not much work 
on hand he will make you a hoop that will be far cheaper and 
stronger than a bought one (see p. 128). In hot weather 
the flies are so troublesome to horses which are being shod, and 
make them so restless, that some one has to stand beside them 
and flick the flies away with a handkerchief. This job might fall 
to you. 
Birds'- One of the advantages of being in the country in spring is 

nesting. that that is the time when birds build. In May the weather is not 
yet sufficiently warm to make sitting about out-of-doors very 
comfortable, but birds'-nesting can make up for that. It is of no 
use to say in this book, " Don't take the eggs," because it is 
possible only for one person here and there to be satisfied with 
merely finding a nest and then passing on to find another. But 
it is a pity for any one who is not a serious collector to take more 
than one egg. For your purposes one is enough, and the loss of 
a single egg rarely causes a bird to desert her nest. Of course 
if you know for certain that the nest is deserted, it is right to 
take all. You can find out by visiting it two or three times, and 
if the eggs remain cold or wet and there is no sign of the bird 
ycu may safely feel that she has abandoned them. Birds, 
have so many natural enemies to fear that it is hard that 
we should harm them too. Last spring, for instance, in a. 
lane in Kent there were no fewer than five robins' nests, not 
one of which came to anything. In three cases village boys 
took all the eggs, and in the other two the young birds 
were allowed to get a few days old, and then, at night, a cat 
who had been stealthily waiting his time crept up and killed 
old and young together. 

To you who are birds'-nesting only for fun it is as exciting 



What Shall We Do Now? 165 

to peer into a wood-stack and see a hedge-sparrow's greeny-blue 
eggs as it is to the true collector to find a really rare nest ; and 
therefore you will be quite satisfied if you keep only to the 
commonest kinds, such as thrushes and blackbirds, hedge-sparrows 
and chaffinches, robins and wrens. Thrushes and blackbirds 
make large nests in all sorts of bushes, a few feet from the ground. 
The thrush's egg is about an inch long, and blue with bold black 
specklings ; its nest is lined with mud. A blackbird's nest is 
unlined except with hay, and its egg is a pale bluey-green, much 
freckled and of the same size as the thrush's. The hedge-sparrow 
makes a much smaller nest, usually in the midst of a thick hedge 
or a wood-pile. It is lined with hair, and the eggs are about 
three-quarters of an inch long, and a beautiful pale greeny-blue. 
The chaffinch's nest is made most comfortably of moss and hair 
and wool, and its eggs are about the same size as the hedge- 
sparrow's, and creamy-pink, with fierce little dark-brown markings. 
These nests are all easy to find. Robins' and wrens' are more 
difficult. The robin takes a hole in a bank and lines it, and lays 
four or five creamy eggs with pink spots. The wren fits a very 
elaborate nest of moss and twigs into the corner made by a 
branch and the tree trunk, or the roots in a hedge, and does it 
so naturally that you may stare right at it twenty times before 
you see it. The wrens' eggs are very small — white with pink 
spots — and she lays sometimes as many as a dozen. You have 
to be very careful when putting your fingers in not to break down 
the side of the nest and cause the bird to desert, for the hole is 
very tiny and a long way above the bottom of the nest. Some 
people who do not mind taking other eggs will not touch a wren's 
or a robin's at all. They believe it to be unlucky. An old 
country rhyme says — 

The wren and the redbreast, 

The robin and the wren ; 
If ye take out o' their nest, 

Ye'll never thrive agen ! 



1 66 



What Shall We Do Now? 



The wren and the redbreast, 

The martin and the swallow ; 
If ye touch one o' their eggs, 

Bad luck will surely follow. 

For the purposes of this volume, this is enough to say con- 
cerning eggs. Scores of books are published for the benefit of 
more serious collectors. One of the cheapest, simplest, and best 
is Bird-Nesting and Bird- Skinning, by Mr. Miller Christy. 
Blowing For blowing eggs a brass or glass blow-pipe is the proper 

e SS s - thing, using only one hole, which is made at the side with a little 

drill. But for your purpose a hole at each end made with a pin 
is simpler and equally good. In blowing you must be careful 
not to hold the egg so tightly in the fingers that its sides crush in. 
Before making the holes it is well to put the egg in a basin of 
water. If it sinks it is fresh and can be blown easily ; but if it 
floats it is set — that is to say, the young bird has begun to form 
— and blowing will be difficult. In such cases it is wise, if you 
are using a blow-pipe, to make a largish hole and put a little water 
in and leave the egg to lie for a day or so ; then blowing it 
will be not much trouble. But if you have no blow-pipe the best 
thing to do is to make one good-sized hole in the less interesting 
side of the egg, and empty it with a bent pin. Then, when it is 
empty, you can put it in the egg box with the broken side under- 
neath. Country boys often thread birds' eggs on a string which 
hangs from the ceiling, but the ordinary way is to put them in 
cotton-wool in a box with cardboard compartments. Making 
this box is a good country occupation for wet weather. 



Butterflies. Butterfly-hunting begins when birds'-nesting is done and the 

weather is hot. Here again it is not the purpose of this book to 
go into particulars : the subject is too large. It is enough to say 
that the needful things are a large net of soft green gauze, a 
killing-bottle with a glass stopper, a cork-lined box with a supply 
of pins in which to carry the butterflies after they are dead, and 



What Shall We Do Now? 167 

setting boards for use at home. The good collector is very- 
careful in transferring the butterfly from the net to the bottle, 
lest its wings are rubbed or broken ; and before taking it out of 
the bottle and putting it in the box you should be quite certain 
that it is dead. The way to get the butterfly into the bottle is 
to drive it into a corner of the net and hold it there, and then 
slip the bottle inside, remove the stopper, and shake the butterfly 
into it. The stopper should be off as short a time as possible. 
For handbooks for a butterfly collector see the " Reading " section. 

A quieter pastime, but a very interesting one, and also one Collecting 
that, unlike egg -collecting and butterfly -collecting, goes on all flowers. 
the year round, is collecting flowers. For this purpose tin cases 
are made, with straps to hold them from the shoulders, in which 
to keep the plants cool and fresh ; but there is no need to wait 
for the possession of one of these. An ordinary box or basket 
will, if you have not very far to walk, serve equally well. You 
will also need a press, which can be simply a couple of boards 
about a foot long and six inches wide, with a good supply of 
blotting-paper between. The flowers are pressed by spreading 
them very carefully, to show their beauty to best advantage, 
between the blotting-paper, and then piling a few books on the 
boards. The weight need not be very heavy and the blotting- 
paper should frequently be renewed. You will soon learn how 
long the pressing need continue, but it is of the highest import- 
ance that the flowers are thoroughly dried before you mount 
them in your album or on separate sheets of paper. The simplest 
form of mounting is to gum little strips of paper here and there 
across the stems. A botanical collection is more valuable if the 
roots of the plants are also included ; and this will make it 
necessary for you to have a long trowel. For the collector of 
flowers a handbook is compulsory. Flowers of the Field, by 
C. A. Johns, is good. 

It is interesting, if you have any skill in painting, to make 



1 68 What Shall We Do Now? 

water-colour copies of all the flowers that you find : another good 
occupation for wet days in the country. 

Nuts and In nutting you want a hooked stick with which to pull down 

blackberries, the branches. For blackberries a hooked stick is not so important, 
but it is well to have leather gloves. The blackberries ought to 
be dry when they are picked. Rain takes their flavour away ; 
so you should wait until the sun comes again and restores it. 
One thing that you quickly notice is that all blackberries are not 
after the same pattern. There are different kinds, just as there 
are different kinds of strawberry and raspberry. Some are hard 
and very closely built ; some are loosely built, with large cells 
which squash between the fingers ; some come between these two 
varieties ; and there are still others. For eating on the spot the 
softer ones are the best, but for cooking and for jam the harder 
ones are equally good. 

In picking blackberries you soon find that it is better to have 
the sun at your back, because if it shines through the bush into 
your eyes you cannot distinguish clearly between the shades 
of blackness. An open basket full of blackberries is a radiant 
sight. Each of the little cells has a point of light, and thousands 
of these together are as gay as jewels. 

No one need starve on the open road in September, for there 
is food on every hedge — two good courses. Nuts are there as 
the stand-by, the backbone of the meal, and after come black- 
berries, as pudding or dessert. To pick the two for an hour, and 
then, resting beneath a tree, to eat until all are gone — that is no 
bad way to have lunch. If you take advice in this matter, you 
will not crack the nuts with your teeth but between stones. 

The time to hunt for mushrooms is before breakfast. They 
grow in the grass in damp meadows, and the best way to look 
for them is to walk up and down in straight lines until the whole 
field has been covered : just as one looks, for plovers' nests. 
Before they are cooked it is almost certain that they will pass 



What Shall We Do Now? 169 

through the hands of some one who knows how to tell a mushroom 
from a toadstool (which is poisonous). The tests of a mushroom, 
however, are worth learning. One is peeling. If the outer skin 
peels off in clean flakes it is a mushroom. The colour of the 
inside is another sign : mushrooms are either pink or purply-black. 
Very large mushrooms often turn out to be less valuable than 
they look, because their size means that they are several days old 
and probably have maggots in them. 

If you are staying anywhere in the hop country (Kent, part Hopping. 
of Surrey, and part of Hampshire), there will be hop-picking. 
Perhaps, if you really mean it, you will find some one who will 
let you pick into the same bin ; only, hop-picking being a serious 
business, which must be finished as quickly as possible, you will 
have to work while you are there. Drying hops in the hop oasts 
is more interesting. Fires of charcoal and sulphur glow all day 
and all night, making heat to pass through the hops laid in the 
drying chamber above. You may see beautiful faint dove- 
coloured smoke stealing out of the white cowl (which has been 
likened to a Quaker lady giving away tracts) on the oast's top. 

Near the farm is certain to be either a pond or a stream. If Ponds and 
it is a clean and high pond, not in a hollow surrounded by trees, sailing boats. 
it will be good to sail boats on. Sailing boats on inland water is 
much better than on the sea, because, with a pond, directly the boat 
is fairly started on its voyage you can run round the other side and 
meet it. Nowhere in the country is there so fine a pond as the 
one in Kensington Gardens, but with a very poor pond it is 
still possible to have a very good time. In buying or making a 
boat, be sure that the lead along the keel is heavy enough. So 
little do toy-shop people think of these things that they very often 
put no lead at all on their boats, and more often than not put too 
little. Once a boat is properly weighted in this way you are 
certain to have fun in sailing her, but otherwise it will be useless 
to try. In boat-sailing it is well to have a long stick with a hook 



170 



What Shall We Do Now ? 



Little boats 
on a stream 



A stream's 
fascination. 



Solitary 
watchful- 
ness. 



Mice and 
moles. 



at the end with which to draw the ship to land. For suggestions 
as to making a useful and simple sailing-boat see p. 242. 

Sailing boats in a stream is little good, because there is no 
steadiness of wind, but ordinary boats will float along in the 
current splendidly. It is interesting to launch one and follow its 
adventures from the bank. Sometimes it will be caught in a weed ; 
sometimes an eddy will sweep it into a back water ; sometimes, in 
shooting the rapids, it will be overturned. But a long stick can 
always put things right. Or one of you will go down the stream 
to a given point and the other will send down messengers — pieces 
of wood, walnut boats (see p. 245), paper boats (see p. 232), or 
whatever it may be. 

But there is no absolute need for you to have boats in order 
to enjoy a stream. There are so many other things to do, not 
the least interesting being to make a dam and stop or divert the 
course of the water. And when tired of playing it is very good 
to sit quite still on the bank and watch things happening : perhaps 
a water-rat will swim along suspecting nothing, and then, seeing 
you make a movement, will dive and disappear, and suddenly 
come into view ever so far away on the other bank. Perhaps a 
moor-hen will bring her little ones to feed close by you, or a 
kingfisher will flash by or settle on a branch overhanging the water. 
Kingfishers grow more rare every year, owing to the merciless and 
unthinking zeal with which they are shot ; and maybe before long 
there will be no more to be seen anywhere. 

Indeed, to keep absolutely quiet and watch things happening 
is for many people one of the most delightful occupations which 
the country holds. When there is no one else to play with it is 
as good a way of spending the time as can be found. 

In a wood or in any place where there are old leaves, as in a 
dry ditch, you will usually get through the ear the first tidings 
of any moving thing. For instance, you will hear a shrew- 
mouse rustling long before you can see its queer pointed nose 
pushing its way through the dead leaves. Or it may be a 



What Shall We Do Now? 171 

mole blundering blindly along. If by any chance a mole is 
caught in a trap while you are in the country, be sure to 
examine its little hands and feel the softness of its fur. 
Perhaps the farm boy will skin it for you ; although it is 
more likely he will skin it for himself, because it is a great 
thing to have a moleskin waistcoat — for which, of course, scores 
of moles are needed. 

Sometimes the rustling is a snake on his way to a sunny spot Snakes. 
where he can bask and sleep. Very slender brown speckled 
snakes, or blind-worms, are quite harmless, and so are the large 
grass-snakes, which are something like a mackerel in lines and 
markings. The adder, however, which is yellowish brown in colour 
with brown markings and a " V " on his head, is dangerous and 
should be avoided. 

Now and then one meets a hedgehog plodding along, Hedgehogs. 
apparently not only blind but deaf too. You may even drop 
chips of wood on his back and stamp on the ground, and he will 
not notice you. Hedgehogs have been known to bump their 
heads against the boot of the person watching them and still to 
refuse to be disturbed. They can, however, run when they like. 
They stretch themselves out straight and scamper like young pigs. 
If you find a hedgehog asleep and want to catch him, the way is 
to spread a handkerchief over him and carry him in it, holding 
the corners. Hedgehogs are useful in clearing the kitchen of 
blackbeetles ; but although for a while they do this work fairly 
well, sooner or later they always vanish. 

It has been said (and denied) that in the late summer, when 
the apples begin to fall on windy nights, hedgehogs flock to the 
orchards to pick them up. Their method is to collect several 
apples together and then roll over them, coming to their feet on 
the other side with two or three sticking to their little squills. 
Thus loaded they make for home again and eat the apples in 
comfort. To meet a hedgehog on its way home carrying half a 
dozen pippins on his back would be a real adventure. 



172 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Ants. On p. 162 is given the title of a book about bees. Hardly 

less wonderful are ants, concerning whom there is much curious 
information in the same work, the reading of which makes it ten 
times more interesting to watch an ant-hill than it was before. 
One sometimes has to remember that it is as serious for ants to 
have their camp stirred up by a walking-stick as it would be for 
London if Snowdon were tossed on top of it. 

Rooks. If y° u like watching birds and animals, to be near a rookery 

is extremely interesting. No birds seem to have so much reason 
in their actions as rooks, and of none is it so possible to believe 
that the sounds they make really represent speech : gossip, 
consultation, advice, or scolding. When an army of rooks settle 
in a field they are careful to post sentries nearabouts, whose 
duty it is to give warning of danger. On a week day you can 
now and then take them in by pointing a walking-stick as if it 
were a gun, especially if the stick is a polished one ; but on 
Sunday they know better. Just before evening falls you may 
see the birds homing to the rookery : one by one, black and 
strong, steadily winging towards the camp. And then, when all 
are in, there is a sudden simultaneous flight out again and the 
sky above the rookery is a bewildering maze cf specks, that cross 
and recross, and ascend and tumble, and utter harsh, yet, when 
multiplied by hundreds, soothing cries. When a high wind 
blows it is fine to watch a rook climbing the sky bravely for a 
minute, and then, caught by the gale, slip down hill again (as it 
were) swiftly and smoothly as a toboggan. 

Swallows But in the flight of birds there is nothing to compare for 

and hawks, beauty and speed with the swift, or for power and cleverness 
with the hawk. On moist evenings, when the swifts fly low and 
level, backwards and forwards, with a quaint little musical squeak, 
like a mouse's, they remind one of fish that dart through the 
water of clear streams under bridges. The hawk, even in a high 
wind, can remain, by tilting his body at the needed angle, perfectly 
still in the air, while his steady wide eyes search the ground far 



What Shall We Do Now? 173 

below him for mice or little birds. Then, when he sees some- 
thing, his body suddenly seems to be made of lead and he drops 
like a stone on his prey. A hawk can climb the sky by leaning 
with outspread wings against the breeze and cork-screwing up in 
a beautiful spiral. 

The time to see squirrels is September and October, when the Squirrels 
beech nuts and hazel nuts are ripe. In the pictures he sits up, 
with his tail resting on his back, holding nuts in his little fore- 
paws ; but one does not often see him like this in real life. He 
is either scampering over the ground with his tail spread out 
behind him or chattering among the branches and scrambling 
from one to another. The squirrel is not seen at his best when 
he goes nutting. His beautiful swift movements are checked by 
the thickness of the hazels. In a beech grove he has more 
liberty to run and leap. Sometimes you will see twenty at once 
all nibbling the beech nuts on the ground. On hearing you they 
make for a tree trunk, and, rushing up it for a yard or two, 
stop suddenly, absolutely still, with fearful eyes, and ears intently 
and intensely cocked. If you stand equally still the squirrel will 
stay there, motionless, like a piece of the tree, for a minute or so, 
and then, in a very bad temper, disappear from view on the other 
side of the trunk, and probably, though you run round the tree 
quickly several times and search every branch with your eyes, 
never come into sight again. It is a good thing to sit under 
a tree some distance from the beech trees, making as little 
movement as possible ; and by and by you will cease to be 
considered as anything but a regular part of the landscape and 
the squirrels may come quite close to you. This is also the way 
to treat rabbits. One must get close to the warren and then take Rabbits. 
up a motionless position and wait. In May and June, when young 
and inexperienced rabbits abound, one can get very near to them. 

If you are fond of writing you might find a good deal of A country 
interest in keeping a country diary : that is to say, a small note- " mr y- 



174 What Shall We Do Now? 

book in which you set down evening by evening all things seen 

during the day that seemed to be sufficiently out of the way 

to be worth recording. 

A camera i?i Nothing is said in this book about amateur photography, be- 

the country, cause to own a camera is still the exception rather than the rule, 

and if once we began to say anything practical about photography 

we should have to say very much more than the scheme .of the 

volume permits. But we might urge any reader who has a 

camera to use it in the country in taking pictures of animal life 

and old buildings. Old-fashioned farmhouses and cottages are 

disappearing so rapidly that we ought to keep as many records of 

them as possible, and well-chosen photographs of animals are not 

only beautiful pictures, but are also very useful. Mr. Kearton's 

work in this way, which may be studied in With Nature and a 

Camera, is extremely valuable. 

Cowttry In the " Reading " chapter will be found the titles of several 

books. books which describe life in the country, and tell you all about 

the habits of animals, birds, and insects. 



DOLLS' HOUSES 



DOLLS' HOUSES 

The most magnificent ready-made dolls' house in the world, with 
gables and windows, stairs, front garden, and the best furniture, 
cannot quite make up to its owner for all the delight she has 
missed by not making it herself. Of course some things, such as 
cups and saucers, glasses and bottles, saucepans and kitchen 
utensils, must be bought ; but almost all the really necessary 
things for housekeeping can be made at home. 

One advantage of making the dolls' house yourself is that Dolls' 
you can arrange for it to have a garden, a provision rarely made gardens. 
by toy-shops. Grass plots can be made of green baize or other 
cloth of the right colour ; garden paths of sand sprinkled over 
gum, or of strips of sand-paper ; flower-beds of brown paper, and 
the flowers of tissue-paper and wire. A summer-house, and a dog- 
kennel to hold a china dog, might also be added (see p. 197), 
and, if you have room, stables. 

Garden seats and tables can be made of cardboard and cork. Garden 
For a seat, take a card two or three inches long and not quite chairs and 
as broad. Mark it right across, lengthwise, in the middle with a es ' 
sharp knife, and then half fold it. This will make the back and 
seat. Gum, or seccotine, the seat to four slender corks for legs 
and paint the whole green. To make a table, gum or press four 
cork legs to a strong piece of cardboard. 

A dolls' house can be made of almost any kind of box. For The house. 
the simplest and smallest kind cigar boxes can be used, and the 

N 



178 What Shall We Do Now? 

furniture made of cork, for which directions are given later ; or a 
couple of low shelves in a bookcase or cupboard will do. Much 
better, however, is a large well-made packing-case divided by- 
wooden and strong cardboard partitions into two, four, or six 
rooms, according to its size. A specially made box is, of course, 
best of all ; this should be divided into four or six rooms, and 
should have a sloping roof to give attic-room for boxes and odd 
furniture. The house can be stained outside or papered a plain 
dark colour. One or two windows should be cut out of the walls 
of each room by the carpenter who made the box, and there 
must be doors between the rooms. A piece of thin glass cut to 
the right size can be fixed on the windows at home. But before 
this is done the house must be papered. The best kind of paper 
is that used by bookbinders for the insides of the covers, because 
the patterns used are so dainty and small ; but this is not always 
easy to get. Any small-patterned paper will do, or what is called 
lining paper, which can be got in every colour. The paper must 
be very smoothly put on with paste. Always start at the top 
when pressing it to the wall, and smooth it downwards gently. 
Dadoes or friezes can be divided off with the tiny beading which 
frame-makers use, or with a painted line, which must be straight 
and evenly done. 
Fireplaces. Fireplaces, which can be bought or made at home, should be 

put in next. To make one yourself, take a strong cardboard- 
box lid about four inches long and two wide (though the size 
must depend on the size of the room). Very neatly cut off a 
quarter of it. This smaller part, covered with gold or silver paper, 
will make the fender. Then cut off both sides of the remaining 
piece, leaving the strip at the top to form the mantelpiece. Glue 
the back of the cover to the wall, hang little curtains from the 
shelf, put some ornaments on it, arrange the fender in front, and 
the fireplace is complete. A grate can be imitated in cardboard 
painted black and red. Gelatine cracker -paper will make an 
excellent glowing fire. 



What Shall We Do Now? 179 

A splendid game of shop can be played while the furnishing A furnish. 
is going on ; in fact, from the moment you have the bare house mg game. 
a board or sign with " To be Let or Sold" will quickly attract 
house-hunting dolls, and when a couple have taken it they will 
have their days full of shopping before it is ready for them. 
You will, of course, yourself be the manufacturers and shop- 
keepers. It is well to make out careful bills for everything sold, 
and the more things you can display in your show-rooms the 
better. All house-hunting dolls require plenty of money. 

Windows have been mentioned, but they are not by any Curtains. 
means a necessity. Yet even if you cannot have windows, you 
should put up curtains, for they make the rooms prettier. Blinds 
can be made of linen, edged at the bottom with a piece of lace, 
and nailed on the wall just above the window. During the 
day these are rolled up and tied. White curtains should be 
bordered with lace and run on a piece of tape, which can be 
nailed or pinned on both sides of the window. They will then 
draw. The stuff curtains can be hung on a pencil (which may 
be gilded or left its own colour) supported by two picture screws. 
Fasten these curtains back with narrow ribbons. Some dolls' 
houses, of course, are fitted with real doors. But if you do not 
have these, it is perhaps well to hang the doorway with curtains, 
also on pencils. 

The floors can be stained or painted either all over or round Floors. 
the edges. Carpets are better not made of ordinary carpet, for 
it is much too thick, but of coloured canvas, or chintz, or thin 
felt, or serge. A rug made of a plain coloured material with a 
cross-stitch or embroidered pattern around it is very pretty. 
Fine matting can also be used, and American cloth is excellent 
for the kitchen. 

In another place in this book (pp. 185-190) will be found General 
instructions for making furniture for very small and simple dolls' mtiarks on 
houses; but for a good dolls' house with several good- sized J urnisun S- 
rooms you would probably prefer, for the most part, to use 



i8o 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Beds. 



bought things. Square tables are of course easy to make (a 
cardboard-box lid on four legs is practically the whole thing), and 
there are other articles which, if you see your way to devise, are 
better made at home, instructions for which will be found as you 
read on ; but chairs and round tables and so forth are perhaps 
most satisfactory when they come from the toy-shop. Both in 
buying furniture and in making it, it is necessary always to 
remember the size of the rooms and of the dolls, and the size of 
whatever furniture you may already have, so as to keep every- 
thing in proportion. 

Beds can be made of cardboard boxes of different sizes. The 
box turned upside down makes the bed itself, and the cover should 





CARDBOARD-BOX BEDS. 



be fixed upright behind it for curtains to hang from. These 
curtains and the frill round the bed should be made of any thin 
material, such as muslin. The mattress, bolster, and pillows 
are best made of cotton-wool covered with muslin or calico. 
Sheets may be made also out of muslin ; pillow-cases should be 
edged with lace; for blankets you use flannel, button -hole- 
stitched round with coloured silk or wool, and the quilt will look 



What Shall We Do Now? 181 

best if made of a dainty piece of silk, or muslin over a coloured 
sateen to match the curtains. A tiny nightdress case should not 
be forgotten. Beds for doll children can be made in the same 
way out of match-boxes ; and for cosy little cots for babies 
there are walnut shells 

Chairs can be made with wire, beads, a little silk or cotton Bead 
material, some cardboard and cotton-wool. To make a chair vs\ furniture. 
this way, cut a piece of cardboard the size that you want the seat 




BEAD CHAIR. 



to be. Lay a good wad of cotton-wool over it, and then cover 
it neatly. On a piece of strong wire thread enough beads to go 
round the seat of the chair. Sew this firmly to the seat. Then 
thread beads on four pieces of wire the right length for the legs, 
and leave a little piece of wire with which to fasten them to 
the wire round the seat. Then make the back from a longer 
piece of wire, bent into shape and attached to the seat in the 
same way, and put a short row of beads across the middle. 
You will need a pair of tweezers to cut the wire and to finish the 
fastening securely. 

Pictures for the walls can be made very easily. The picture Pictures. 
itself will be a scrap or tiny photograph. This is pasted on a 



182 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Bookshelves 
ajid books. 



piece of cardboard larger than itself, and round the edge of that 
you place a strip of whatever coloured paper you want for the 
frame. The picture cord, a piece of cotton, can be fastened on the 
back with stamp paper. More elaborate frames are cut out of 
cardboard and bound round with coloured silk and covered with 
gold paint. The picture is then stuck into it. 

The simplest bookshelves are those that hang from a nail on 
the wall. They are made by cutting two or three strips of card- 
board of the size of the shelves and boring holes at the corners of 




HANGING BOOKSHELVES. 



Other 
articles. 



each. These are then threaded one by one on four lengths of silk 
or fine string, knots being tied to keep the shelves the right 
distance apart, as in the drawing. Care has to be taken to get 
the knots exactly even, or the shelf will be crooked. 

Books can be made by sewing together a number of tiny sheets 
of paper, with a coloured cover and a real or invented title. 
Sometimes these books contain real stories. 

A dolls' house ought to be as complete as possible, and 
though this will take a long time it is absorbingly interesting work 
from start to finish. It should be the ambition of the mistress of 
a dolls' house to have it as well furnished as the house of a 
grown-up person, and if she looks round the rooms in her own 



What Shall We Do Now? 183 

home carefully she will see how many things can be copied. 
There will be cushions to make, fancy table-cloths for different 
tables, toilet-covers and towels for the bedroom, splashers to go 
behind washstands, mats in front of them, and roll-towels and 
kitchen cloths for the kitchen. 

Everything should be made of the thinnest and finest material, 
cut with the greatest care and sewn with the tiniest stitches. 
Light and dainty colours are best for a dolls' house. If you have 
several rooms, it is a good plan to have a pink room, a blue room, 
a yellow room, and in each room to have everything of different 
shades of that colour and white. Perhaps no material is so useful 
to the owner of a dolls' house as art muslin. It is soft, cheap, and 
very pretty. 

Coming to other furniture which can be made at home, we 
find screens (made of cardboard and scraps), music for the piano, 
walking-sticks, flowers (made of coloured tissue-paper and wire), 
flower-pots (made of corks covered with red paper), cupboards to 
keep linen and glass in (made out of small cardboard boxes, fitted 
with shelves), and many other little things which, if you look round 
your own home carefully, will be suggested to you. Even bicycles 
can be imitated in cardboard and placed in the hall. 

As to dolls, the more the merrier. They are so cheap and The 
can be dressed so easily that it seems a great pity not to have a inhabitants. 
large family and a larger circle of friends who will occasionally 
visit them. There must be a father and a mother, a baby and 
some children, servants (in stiff print dresses with caps and aprons), 
and certainly a bride, who, if her dress cannot be changed for an 
ordinary one, ought to be kept carefully hidden, except when there 
is a wedding. 

It is rather difficult to dress these tiny dolls so that their Dressing 
clothes will take off and on, but it is much better to do so \{ dolls. 
possible. In any case they can have capes and hats which take 
off. The thinnest materials make the best under-clothes, but stiff 
material for dresses makes it possible to stand the dolls up. 



1 84 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Glove buttons, and the narrowest ribbons, tapes, and laces, are 
useful things to have when you are dressing dolls'-house dolls. 
Dolls' dinner Dolls occasionally require parties. The food may be real or 
parties. imitation. If real, — such as currants and raisins, sugar and candied 

peel, — it is more amusing at the moment ; but if imitation, you 
have a longer time of interest in making it. Get a little flour, 
and mix it with salt and water into a stiff paste, like clay. - Then 
mould it to resemble a round of beef, a chicken, a leg of mutton, 
potatoes, pies, or whatever you want, and stand it in front of the 
fire to dry. When dry, paint (in water-colour) to resemble these 
things still more. If there is clay in the garden, you can make 
all these things from that, and many others too. 
Dolls' fiats. Just as people live not only in houses but in flats, so may 

there be dolls' flats as well as dolls' houses. A dolls' flat consists 
of a board on which the outline of the rooms is made with single 
bricks. For example, a four-roomed flat might be arranged 
like this — 



ZEUDLJI LZCZr 



Ki-tclxen. 



xnc 




Ball 







] Lit, f 



J \ W^T 



1------I r r -r-i 



r 



Dcrti.n.<j> 
~R.oom. 



T*>q.cL room. 



Q-w •• • LjdxzLJi i \-~ rrz : 



A DOLLS' FLAT. 



To lay the bricks on a board is not necessary. They can be laid 
on the floor equally well, except that when you have done playing 



What Shall We Do Now? 185 

you will have then to put them away again, whereas if placed on 
a board they can be left till next time. Nor is there any reason 
why the walls should not be higher than a single brick ; that is 
merely a matter of taste. Once the walls are ready the furniture 
and dolls can be put in in the ordinary way. 

Smaller Dolls' Houses 

So far we have been considering larger dolls' houses. But Smaller 
there are also smaller ones, which naturally require much smaller dolli houses. 




arm-chair, cork (see p. 1 86). 

furniture. These dolls' houses can be made of cardboard (as de- 
scribed on p. 193 and on), or they can be merely small boxes — even 
cigar boxes ; and the dolls and furniture in them can be, if you 
like, all paper, or made of materials in ways that are now suggested. 

This furniture, if very neatly made, can be very successful, and Cork and 
it costs almost nothing. Plain pins will do quite well, although match-box 
the fancy ones are much prettier. Velvet or thin cloth is best {oxf urmture - 
the dining-room furniture ; silk for the drawing-room ; and some 
light-coloured cotton material for the bedrooms. 



1 86 



What Shall We Do Now? 



You will need — 

Several good-sized corks, or pickle corks, for the larger things. 
Some pieces of fancy silk or velvet. 

A number of strong pins of different sizes. (The fancy pins with large 
white, black, and coloured heads are best.) 

Some wool, silk, or tinsel which will go well with the silk or velvet. 
A strong needle and a reel of cotton. 



Cut a round or square piece of cork about quarter of an inch 
thick and one inch across. Cover it with a piece of silk or velvet, 
making all the stitches on that side of the cork which will be 
the under side of the seat. For the legs put a pin firmly into 
each corner. Wind a little wool or silk firmly round each leg, 
finishing it off as neatly as possible. The back of the seat 
is made by sticking four pins rather closely together and wind- 
ing the wool or silk in and out of them. Fasten the wool 
with a tiny knot both when you begin winding and when 
you finish. Arm-chairs are made in the same way, except that 
they are rather larger, and arms — made of small pins — are added. 

Very good dining-room chairs can be made of chestnuts. 
The flatter side of the nut is the seat, and in this are stuck pins for 
the back (and arms if necessary), which may be bound together with 
gold or silver tinsel. Other pins are stuck in underneath for legs. 

For a sofa a piece of cork about two inches long and half an 
inch thick is needed. This must be covered, and then quite short 
pins stuck in for legs. Put a row of short pins along one side 
and the two ends, and wind the wool neatly in and out of them. 

Round tables can be made best of different-sized pieces of 
cork, with very strong pins for legs ; and square ones of the outside 
of a wooden match-box, with four little medicine-bottle corks 
gummed under it for legs. In either case it is most important to 
have the legs well fixed on and of exactly the same length. It 
is not necessary to cover a table, but a table-cloth of silk, either 
fringed, or hemmed with tiny stitches, and a white table-cloth for 
meals, should be made. 



What Shall We Do N - 



f^7 



i can be made by taking a flat round cork and 
it at regular intervab all round. Weave silk 
or tinsel in and out of the pins until they are covered. (See bek 

Several small piece s Is may be covered to make foot- Foot-sUnls. 

stools. 




CHESTS UT CHAIR (seep- l86J. 

A serviceable standard lamp can be made by taking a small standard 
empty cotton reel, gilding or painting it, and fixing the wooden lamp. 




fascy table (see above). 

part of a thin penholder firmly into it. On the top of it gum a 
round piece of cork, on which a lamp-shade, made of one of the 
little red paper caps that chemists put on bottles, can be placed. 



1 88 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Bedroom Furniture 
You will need — 
Two large wooden match-boxes. 
Several corks of different sizes. 

Some pieces of chintz, of cotton material, flannel, linen, American cloth, 
and a little cotton-wool. 
An empty walnut shell. 

Several wooden matches with the heads taken off. 
Pins of different sizes. 

Wool, silk or tinsel, for the backs of the chairs. 
A tube of seccotine or some very strong gum. 

To make a bed, take the inside of a match-box and cut away 
the bottom of it. Then take two matches and gum them to the 
two corners at the head of the bed so that a portion sticks out 




MATCH-BOX BEDSTEAD. 

below the bed for legs and above the bed for a railing. Cut two 
more matches to the same length as these others, less the part of 
them that serves for legs, and fasten these at equal distances from 
each other and from the two others already gummed in position. 
Along the top of these place another match for a rail, and the 
head of the bed is done. For the foot of the bed repeat these 



What Shall We Do Now? 



189 



operations exactly, except that all the upright matches must be 
a little shorter. Then cut off one end of the bottom of the box 
and fit it in to form the part of the bed that takes the mattress. 
It can be fastened in with stamp-paper. The bedstead, when 
made, should be like the one in the accompanying picture. A 
little mattress must now be made to fit the bed exactly ; it can 
be stuffed with cotton-wool or bran. A pillow, blankets, sheets, 
and a fancy coverlet may also be made, and a very thin and tiny 
frill should be put right round the bed to hide the box. 




MATCH-BOX WASHSTAND (see below). 

A very pretty baby's cradle can be made out of half a walnut 
shell. It should be lined, and curtains should be hung from a 
match fastened upright at one end of the shell. 

The outside of the same match-box that was used for the Dressing- 
bed will make a dressing-table. Stand it up on either of its tables. 
striking sides, and gum or sew a piece of light-coloured thin 
material all round it, and then over this put a muslin frill. Make 
a little white cloth to lay on the top of the table. The looking- 
glass is made by fixing a square of silver paper in a cardboard 
frame. 

Take the inside of another match-box and stand it up on one Wash-hand 
of its sides. Then take five or six matches and cut them to stands. 
that length which, when they are gummed in an upright row at 



190 



What Shall We Do Now? 



equal distances apart to the back of the match-box, will cause 
them to stand up above the top of it about a third of an inch. 
On the tops of them then lay another match to make a little 
railing. Cover the box as you did the dressing-table. Put 
a little mat of American cloth on the top of the box, and 




TOWEL-HORSE. 



CLOTHES-BASKET. 



Wardrobes. 



Towel-horse. 

Clothes- 
basket. 



make another large one to lay in front of it. Proper jugs and 
basins will, of course, have to be bought, but an acorn cup or 
small shell makes a very good toy basin. 

The wardrobe is made by standing the inside of a match-box 
on end, fixing inside several little pegs made of small pieces of 
match stuck in with seccotine, and hanging two little curtains in 
front of it. If, when done, it seems too low, it may be raised on 
four little corks. 

A towel-horse can easily be made with six long pins and two 
small pieces of cork. 

To make a clothes-basket, take a round piece of cork about 
a quarter of an inch thick and stick pins closely together all round 
it, as in the above picture. Then weave wool in and out of them. 



DOLLS' HOUSES AND DOLLS OF 
CARDBOARD AND PAPER 



DOLLS' HOUSES AND DOLLS OF 
CARDBOARD AND PAPER 

A CARDBOARD house, furnished with paper furniture and occupied 
by paper dolls, is a very good substitute for an ordinary dolls' 
house, and the making of it is hardly less interesting. The 
simplest way to make a cardboard house is to cut it all (with the 
exception of the partition and the roof) in one piece. 

The plan given here is for a two - roomed cottage, the 
measurements for which can be multiplied to whatever size you 
like (or whatever is the utmost that your sheet of cardboard will 
permit). The actual model from which this plan was made (the 
house was built from a royal sheet of Bristol board) had a total 
floor measurement of 8 inches by 14. The end walls were 5 
inches high, the side walls 5 inches, sloping up to 7 in the 
middle, and the partition was 7 inches. The roof was slightly 
wider than the floor, in order to make wide eaves, and as much 
longer as was needful not only for the eaves but also to allow for 
the angle. 

The first thing to do is to rule the outline of the cottage. 
All the measurements must be most accurately made, as the 
slightest incorrectness will keep the house from fitting together 
properly. Then cut it out. When this is done, draw the 
windows and doors. Then lay your cardboard on a board, and 
run your knife along each side of the windows and the three free 
sides of the doors until the card is cut through. A ruler held 

O 



194 What Shall We Do Now? 

close to the pencilled line will make your knife cut straight. 
The bars across the windows can be made of strips of paper 
gummed on afterwards. If the doors have a tiny piece shaved 
off each of the cut sides, they will open and shut easily. . 

To make the front door open well, outwards, the hinge line 
of the door (KK) should be half cut through «>n the inside. 
The hinge can be strengthened by gumming a narrow strip of 
paper or linen along it. At the three points marked G make 
small slits through which to put the tags, also marked G, of the 
partition wall. 

All drawing and painting must be done on both sides while 
the house is still flat. The doors inside will need handles and 
keyholes. Small pieces of mica can be gummed over the windows 
instead of glass. 

Little curtains of crinkly tissue-paper can also be made, and, 
if you like, the walls can easily be papered with coloured paper 
pasted on. This will cause some delay, however, for it must be 
well pressed. Instead, wall-paper patterns could be painted on. 

Outside — that is, on the underside of the cardboard — there 
is a great deal to do. Both walls and roof can be painted, and 
tiles, bricks, and creepers imitated. The front door should have a 
knocker and a letter-box, and around both the door and the 
windows should be imitation framework. As the upright joints of 
the four walls will be made of stamp-paper or linen painted to 
imitate brick-work or stone-work, you need not carry the painting 
of the walls quite to the edges, because these will be covered by 
the joints. It is best to paint the joints before you stick them on. 

Before turning the card over again, run your knife along the 
four sides of the floor to assist the bending up of the walls. Do 
not on any account cut through ; merely make a half cut. 

When you have drawn and painted all you can think of to 
make the house complete and pretty, take your strips of stamp- 
paper or linen, for the fastening of the walls, crease them in half, 
lengthwise, and gum one half to the outside of the edge of the 



What Shall We Do Now? 



195 




Fiqurte*. 



lM£u<?g I. 
r 

CARDBOARD DOLLS' HOUSE. 



196 



What Shall We Do Now? 



walls marked CB and DE in the plan. When this is quite dry, 
bend the back wall and the two side walls up, and gum the free 
sides of the strips to the wall marked AB and EF, holding the 
walls firmly together until well stuck. Strengthen the fold LM, 
which has to serve as a hinge for the front of the house, with a 
strip of linen gummed underneath. The sides of the front wall 
must remain unattached, as that forms the opening. It can be 
kept closed by a strong pin slipped through the roof. 




APPEARANCE OF HOUSE WHEN COMPLETE. 

The Now for the partition. Put the three tags G G G through the 

partition, s lits H H H and gum them firmly down on the outside. (These 
will have to be touched up with paint.) The roof must then be 
put On. Cut out a slit N an inch long to fit the tag on the parti- 
tion, also marked N. Run your knife along the dotted line under- 
neath, and fold it to the necessary angle to fit the sloping walls. 
Where the. roof touches the end walls it must be fastened on with 
strips of linen or paper, which have been folded in the same way as 
before and one half fastened securely to the walls. It is important 
to let it get quite dry before gumming the other half to the roof. 



What Shall We Do Now? 



197 




?»$Uft£ 







DOG-KENNEL'(Fig. i) AND ROOF (Fig. 2). 



1 98 What Shall We Do Now? 

The chimney. The chimney, of which the illustration is the actual size, is 
the last thing to be made. First paint, and then fold the two 
side pieces downwards, cut out the three little holes and put into 
them three chimneys, made by folding small pieces of paper, 
painted red, round a penholder, and gumming their edges together. 
The chimney is fixed to the sloping roof with very small pieces 
of gummed paper. Remember that all the pieces of paper. used 
as fastening ought to be touched up with paint. The chimney 
in the drawing of the complete house on page 196 is put at the 
side of the roof, but it may even better go in the middle. 

The garden. The cottage can then be fixed to a piece of wood or paste- 

board, to form its garden and add to convenience in moving it 
about. A cardboard fence and gate can be cut out and painted 
green. A path to the front door is made by covering a narrow 
space of the cardboard with very thin gum over which, while it is 
wet, sand is sprinkled to imitate gravel. Moss will do for 
evergreens, and grass plots can be made of green cloth. A 
summer-house, garden chairs and tables are easily cut out of 
cardboard. So also are a rabbit-hutch, pump, dove-cot, and dog- 
kennel. A plan of a dog-kennel, actual size, is given. 

Another It is, of course, possible to make a house of several pieces 

way. instead of one. The walls and floors can be made separately 

and joined with linen strips ; but this adds to the difficulty of 
the work and causes the house to be less steady. Cardboard 
houses can also be made with two floors. 

Paper Furniture 

Everything required for the furnishing and peopling of a 
cardboard dolls' house can be made of paper ; and if coloured at 
all cleverly the furniture will appear to be as solid as that of 
wood. After cutting out and joining together one or two of the 
models given in the pages that follow, and thus learning the 
principle on which paper furniture is made, you will be able to 



What Shall We Do Now? 199 

add all kinds of things to those mentioned here or to devise new 
patterns for old articles, such as chairs and desks. 

Two recent inventions of the greatest possible use to the Seccctine 
maker of paper furniture are seccotine, a kind of gum which gets and adhesive 
dry very quickly and is more than ordinarily strong, and adhesive a ™' 
tape. Seccotine can be bought for a penny a tube, and adhesive 
tape, which is sold principally for mending music and the torn 
pages of books, is put up in penny reels. 

A pair of compasses is a good thing to have ; but you can Home-made 
make a perfectly serviceable tool by cutting out a narrow strip compasses. 
of cardboard about four inches long and boring holes at intervals 
of a quarter of an inch, through which the point of a pencil 
can be placed. If one end of the strip is fastened to the paper 
with a pin you can draw a circle of what size you want, up to 
eight inches across. 

These are the materials needed when making paper furniture:- — ■ Materials. 

A few sheets of stiff note-paper or drawing-paper. Scissors. A penknife 
A ruler (a flat penny one). A mapping-pen. A box of paints. A board to cut 
out on. Adhesive tape (a id. reel) or stamp-paper. Seccotine (a id. tube). 

If the drawings are to be traced, tracing-paper, or transparent Tracing. 
note-paper, and a sheet of carbon-paper, will also be needed. To 
trace a drawing, cover it with paper and draw it exactly. Then 
cover the paper or cardboard from which you wish to cut out 
the furniture with a piece of carbon-paper, black side down, and 
over that place your tracing. Draw over this again with a very 
sharply pointed pencil or pointed stick, and the lines will be 
repeated by the carbon-paper on the under sheet of paper. 

The furniture, for which designs are given in this chapter, can 
be made of stiff note-paper, Whatman's drawing-paper, or thin 
Bristol board. The drawings can be copied or traced. In either 
case the greatest care must be taken that the measurements are 
minutely correct and the lines perfectly straight. A slip of paper 
is a very good thing to measure with. 

Enough designs have been given to show how most different 



200 



What Shall We Do Now? 



kinds of furniture can be made. These can, of course, be varied 
and increased by copying from good furniture lists ; while many 
little things such as saucepans, dishes, clocks, and so forth, can 
be copied from stores lists and added to the few that are given 
below and on p. 203. 

These small articles are cut out flat, but an extra piece of 
paper is left under each, which, when bent back, makes a stand. 






THREE CARDBOARD UTENSILS. 



General The front legs of chairs, the legs of tables, and the backs of 

instructions, furniture must be neatly joined together by narrow strips of stamp- 
paper or adhesive tape. To do this, cut a strip of the right size 
crease it down the middle, and stick one side. Allow this to dry, 
before you fix the other. 

Wherever in the pictures there is a dotted line, it means that 
the paper is to be folded there. It will be easily seen whether 
it is to be folded up or down. 

Before the furniture is folded it should be painted. Wood, 
iron, brass, and silk can all be imitated in colour. 

In cutting out small spaces of cardboard — as between the 
bars of a chair — lay the card on a board, and keeping your knife, 
which should be sharp at the point, against a flat ruler, run it 
again and again along the lines you want to cut, until you have 
cut through. If your furniture is made of paper, the spaces can 
be cut out with finely pointed scissors, taking care to start in the 
niddle of the space, for the first incision is seldom a clean one. 



What Shall We Do Now? 



201 




KITCHEN TABLE. 
(Cut out the oblong parts marked A. ) 



202 



What Shall We Do Now? 





KITCHEN RANGE AND KITCHEN CHAIR. 

(A is turned up to form a shelf for saucepans. B is gummed down over the bach.) 



What Shall We Do Now? 



203 




(To be made of one piece of paper folded into three equal parts and cut out in accordance 

with the illustration.) 






§ 



S3 



VARIOUS POTS AND PANS. 

(Under part to be folded back for a stand.) 



204 What Shall We Do Now? 




DINING-ROOM TABLE AND CLOTH. 



What Shall We Do Now? 



205 




SIDEBOARD. 



206 



What Shall We Do Now? 




-%■ $ * 

* 4: % 

% * & 

* + & * 




4 



« 



^ ^ * * , * 

% & -4 



■^ V A^U,Al'\W^Ml , /A>W l w r . ■■":..1 . I., ^»»»„„.4. -A ..,,., 







SOFA AND ARM-CHAIR. 

(The corners must be fastened to the seat by very narrow strips of paper.) 



What Shall We Do Now? 



207 



I 



AJL. 



a 



11 



w 



Fh 



WOODEN BEDSTEAD. 



208 



What Shall We Do Now? 




What Shall We Do Now? 



209 




<3 



A 



DRESSING-TABLE. 
P 



210 



What Shall We Do Now? 




WASH-HAND STAND. 



What Shall We Do Now? 



211 



U 




□ 



ri 



IJ 



ROCKING-CHAIR, TOWEL-HORSE, AND CHAIR. 



212 



What Shall We Do Now? 




CHILD'S HIGH CHAIR AND COT. 

In the chair the lines AB and BA must be cut. 
In the cot the four pieces marked A are cut out on three sides and bent down to form legs. 



What Shall We Do Now? 213 

Paper Dolls 

Paper dolls are not as good to play with as proper dolls. 
One can do much less with them because they cannot be washed, 
have no hair to be brushed, and should not sit down. But they 
can be exceedingly pretty, and the keeping of their wardrobes in 
touch with the fashion is an absorbing occupation. Paper dolls 
are more interesting to those who like painting than to others. 
The pleasure of colouring them and their dresses is to many of 
us quite as interesting as cutting out and sewing the clothes of 
ordinary dolls. 

The first thing to do is to draw the doll in pencil on the Making 
cardboard or paper which it is to be cut from. If you are no\.P a P er dolls, 
good at drawing, the best way is to trace a figure in a book or 
newspaper, and then, slipping a piece of carbon-paper (which can 
be bought for a penny or less at any stationer's) between your 
tracing-paper and the cardboard, to go over the outline again with 
a pencil or a pointed stick. On uncovering the cardboard you 
will find the doll there all ready to cut out. It should then be 
coloured on both sides, partly flesh colour and partly underclothes. 

The dresses are made of sheets of notepaper, the fold of which The dresses. 
forms the shoulder pieces. The doll is laid on the paper, with 
head and neck lapping over the fold, and the line of the dress is 
then drawn a little larger than the doll. A small round nick to 
form the collar is cut between the shoulders of the dress, and a 
slit is made down the back through which the doll's head can be 
passed. After the head is through it is turned round. (Of course, 
if the dress is for evening the place which you cut for the neck 
must be larger, and in this case no slit will be needed.) All the 
details of the dresses, which can be of original design, or copied 
from advertisements and fashion plates, must be drawn in in 
pencil and afterwards painted. Hats, trimmed with tissue-paper 
feathers or ribbons, are made of round pieces of notepaper with 
a slit in them just big enough for the tip of the doll's head to go 



214 



What Shall We Do Now? 




PAPER MOTHER AND CHILD, WITH CLOTHES FOR EACH. 

(Designed and made by Miss S. M. Clayton.) 



What Shall We Do Now? 



21 




A PAPER GIRL, WITH SIX CHANGES. 
(Designed and made by Miss M. C. G. Jackson. ) 



2l6 



What Shall We Do Now? 



through. The illustrations on pp. 2 1 4 and 215 should make 

everything clear. 
Tissue-paper Dresses can also be made of crinkly tissue-paper gummed to 

a foundation of plain notepaper. Frills, flounces, and sashes are 

easily imitated in this material, and if the colours are well chosen 

the result is very pretty. 
Other paper Simpler and absolutely symmetrical paper dolls are made by 

cutting them out of folded paper, so that the fold runs right 



dresses. 



dolls. 





WALKING PAPER DOLLS. 



Walking 

dolls. 



Rows of 
paper dolls. 



down the middle of the doll. By folding many pieces of paper 
together, one can cut out many dolls at once. 

Walking ladies are made in that way ; but they must have 
long skirts and no feet, and when finished a cut is made in the 
skirt — as in the picture — and the framework thus produced is 
bent back. When the doll is placed on the table and gently 
blown it will move gracefully along. 

To make a row of paper dolls, take a piece of paper the height 
that the dolls are to be, and fold it alternately backwards and 
forwards (first one side and then the other) leaving about an inch 



What Shall We Do Now? 217 

between each fold. Press the folds together tightly and cut out 
the half of a doll, being careful that the arms are continued to 
the edge of the fold and are not cut off. Open out and you will 
have a string of paper dolls. 

Other articles to be made from paper and cardboard will be 
found on pp. 231-240. 



INDOOR OCCUPATIONS AND THINGS 

TO MAKE- 



INDOOR OCCUPATIONS AND THINGS 
TO MAKE 

PAINTING is an occupation which is within almost everybody's Painting. 
power, and of which one tires very slowly or perhaps not at all. 
By painting we mean colouring old pictures rather than making 
new ones, since making new ones — from nature or imagination — 
requires separate gifts. On a wet afternoon — or, if it is permitted, 
on Sunday afternoon — colouring the pictures in a scrapbook or in 
a cottage almanack is a very pleasant and useful employment. 
After dark, painting is not a very wise occupation, because, in an 
artificial light, colours cannot be properly distinguished. 

All shops that sell artists' materials keep painting-books. But 
old illustrated papers do very well. 

An even more interesting thing to do with a paint-box is to Flags. 
make a collection of the flags of all nations. And when those are 
all done, — you will find coloured pages of them in an old Boys' Own 
Paper volume, and elsewhere too, — you might get possession of 
an old shipping guide, and copy Lloyd's signal code from it. 

Colouring maps is interesting, but is more difficult than you Maj-s. 
might perhaps think, owing to the skill required in laying an even 
surface of paint on an irregular space. The middle of the country 
does not cause much trouble, but when it comes to the jagged 
frontier line the brush has to be very carefully handled. To wet 
the whole map with a wet brush at the outset is a help. Perhaps 
before starting in earnest on a map it would be best to practise a 
little with irregular-shaped spaces on another piece of paper. 



222 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Magic- 
lantern 
slides. 



If you have a magic lantern in the house you can paint some 
home-made slides. The colours should be as gay as possible. The 
best home-made slides are those which illustrate a home-made 
story ; and the fact that you cannot draw or paint really well should 
not discourage you at all. A simpler way of making slides is to 
hold the glass over a candle until one side is covered with lamp 
black and then with a sharp stick to draw outline pictures on it. 

Another way is to cut out silhouettes in black paper, or 
coloured tracing-paper, and stick them to the glass. In copying a 
picture on a slide put the glass over the picture and draw the outline 
with a fine brush dipped in Indian ink. Then paint. All painting 
on slides should be covered with fixing varnish, or it will rub off. 



Illuminat- 
ing;. 



Pen and ink 
work. 



Chalks. 



Tracing. 



P7'icki?ig 
pictures. 



As a change from painting there is illuminating, for which 
smaller brushes and gold and silver paint are needed. Illuminating 
texts is a favourite Sunday afternoon employment. 

There is also pen and ink drawing, mistakenly called " etching," 
for which you require a tiny pen, known as a mapping pen, and a 
cake of Indian ink. If the library contains a volume of old wood- 
cuts, particularly Bewick's Birds or Betuick's Quadrupeds, you will 
have no lack of pictures to copy. 

In place of paints a box of chalks will serve very well. 

Smaller children, who have not yet learned to paint properly, 
often like to trace pictures either on tracing paper held over the 
picture, or on ordinary thin paper held over the picture against 
the window pane. 

Pictures can also be pricked with a pin, but in this case some 
one must draw it first. You follow the outline with little pin 
pricks close together, holding the paper on a cushion while you 
prick it. Then the picture is held up to the window for the light 
to shine through the holes. 



What Shall We Do Now? 223 

A lump of modelling clay can keep one agreeably employed Modelling 
— provided your fingers have any cleverness at all — for hours. in cia y- 
This can be bought at any artist-material shop ; or ordinary clay 
dug up in the garden will serve. Hundreds of capable modellers 
must have lived and died in ignorance of their power, simply 
because the idea of playing with clay never occurred to them. 

Home-made Easter eggs are made by painting pictures or Easter eggs. 
messages on eggs that have been hard-boiled, or by merely boiling 
them in water containing cochineal or some other colouring material. 
In Germany it is the custom for Easter eggs to be hidden about in 
the house and garden, and for the family to hunt for them before 
breakfast — a plan that might very well be taken up by us. 

Paper and cardboard articles can be prettily decorated by Spatter- 
spatter-work. Ferns are the favourite shapes to use. You first work - 
pin them on whatever it is that is to be ornamented in this way, 
arranging them as prettily as possible. Then rub some Indian 
ink in water on a saucer until it is quite thick. Dip an old tooth- 
brush lightly into the ink, and, holding it over the cardboard, rub 
the bristles gently across a fine tooth comb. This will send a 
spray of ink over the cardboard. Do this again and again until 
the tone is deep enough, and try also to graduate it. It must be 
remembered that the ink when dry is much darker than when wet. 
Then remove the ferns, when under each there will be a white space 
exactly reproducing their beautiful shape. If you like you can 
paint in their veins and shade them ; but this is not really 
necessary. Coloured paints can be used instead of Indian ink. 

Making scrapbooks is always a pleasant and useful employ- Scrapbooks. 
ment, whether for yourself or for children in hospitals or districts, 
and there was never so good an opportunity as now of getting 
interesting pictures. These you select from odd numbers of 
magazines, Christmas numbers, illustrated papers, and advertise- 



224 What Shall We Do Now? 

ments. Scraps are very useful to fill up odd corners. In choosing 
pictures for your own scrapbook it is better to select only those 
that you really believe in and can find a reason for using, than to 
take everything that seems likely to fit. By choosing the pictures 
with this care you make the work more interesting and the book 
peculiarly your own. But in making a scrapbook as a present 
for some one that you know, you will, of course, in choosing 
pictures, try to put yourself in his place and choose as you think 
that he would. 

Empty scrapbooks can be bought ; or you can make one by 
taking (for a large one) an old business ledger, which some one 
whom you know is certain to be able to give you, or (for a small 
one) an ordinary old exercise-book, and then cutting out every 
other page about half an inch from the stitching. This is to 
allow room for the extra thickness which the pictures will give to 
the book. Or you can sew sheets of brown paper together. 

For sticking on the pictures, use paste rather than gum ; and 
when it is done, press the book under quite a light weight, with 
sheets of paper between the pages. 
Scrapbooks Children that are ill are often too weak to hold up a large 

for hospitals. doo i- an( j turn over the leaves. There are two ways of saving 
them this exertion and yet giving them pleasure from pictures. 
One is to get several large sheets of cardboard and cover them 
with pictures and scraps on both sides, and bind them round with 
ribbon. These can be enclosed in a box and sent to the Matron. 
She will distribute the cards among the children, and when they 
have looked at each thoroughly they can exchange it for another. 
Another way is to get an old folding -book of draper's patterns, 
tear off the patterns, and stick the pictures on instead. Folding- 
books are more easy to hold than ordinary turning-over ones. 
But you can make them at home very simply by covering half a 
dozen or more cards of the same size (post-cards make capital 
little books) with red linen, and then sewing them edge to edge so 
as to ?et them all in a row. In covering the cards with the linen 



What Shall We Do Now? 225 

— red is not compulsory, but it is a good colour to choose — it is 
better to paste it on as well as to sew it round the three edges 
(a fold will come on one side), because then when you stick on the 
pictures they will not cockle up. Pictures for hospital scrapbooks 
should be bright and gay. Coloured ones are best, but if you 
cannot get them already coloured you can paint them. Painting 
a scrapbook is one of the best of employments. 

Sometimes it happens that you get very tired of one of the Composite 
pictures in your scrapbook. A good way to make it fresh and scrapbooks. 
interesting again is to introduce new people or things. You will 
easily find among your store of loose pictures a horse and cart, or 
a dog, or a man, or a giraffe, which, when cut out, will fit in 
amusingly somewhere in the old picture. If you like, a whole 
book can be altered reasonably in this way, or made ridiculous 
throughout. 

A screen is an even more interesting thing to make than a Scrap- 
scrapbook. The first thing to get is the framework of the covered 
screen, which will either be an old one the covering of which screens ' 
needs renewing, or a new one made by the carpenter. The next 
thing is to cover it with canvas, which you must stretch on tightly 
and fasten with small tacks ; and over this should be pasted 
another covering of stout paper, of whatever colour you want for 
a background to the pictures. Paste mixed with size should be 
used in sticking it. After the pictures are all arranged they 
should be stuck with the same material, and a coat of paper 
varnish given to the whole, so that it can be cleaned occasionally. 

Stamp-collecting is more interesting if money is kept out of Collectitig 
it and you get your stamps by gift or exchange. The best way stamps. 
to begin is to know someone who has plenty of foreign corre- 
spondence and to ask for all his old envelopes. Nothing but 
time and patience can make a good collection. To buy it, is to 
have little of the collector's joy. 

Q 



226 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Postage- 
stamp 
snakes. 



Old English stamps can be used for making snakes. There 
is no need to soak the stamps off the envelope paper : they must 
merely be cut out cleanly and threaded together. A big snake 
takes about 4000 stamps. The head is made of black velvet 
stuffed with cotton wool, and beads serve for eyes. A tongue of 
red flannel can be added. 



Postmarks. Postmarks are also collected, although to have a complete 

collection would be almost, if not quite, impossible. That, 
however, need not stop you. In pasting them in an album the 
English ones are usually arranged in counties ; or they may be 
arranged in groups according to the railways which run to them. 
Thus a Weybridge postmark would go into the L. and S.W.R. 
division, an East Grinstead into the L.B. and S.C.R., a Colchester 
into the G.E.R., and so on. Another treatment of postmarks 
is to buy or make a large map of England and on the site of 
every important town paste its postmark. 

Puzzles. If you have a fret saw, and can use it cleverly, you can make 

at home as good a puzzle as any that can be bought. The first 
thing to do is to select a good coloured picture, such as the 
Christmas number of the Grap/iic always has, and then to procure 
from a carpenter a thin mahogany board of the same size. 
Mahogany is not absolutely necessary, but it must be some wood 
that is both soft and tough. Deal, for instance, is useless because 
it is not tough, and oak is useless because it is not soft. On this 
wood you stick the picture very firmly, using weak glue in 
preference to paste or gum. When it is quite dry you cut it up 
into the most difficult fragments that you can. It is best to cut 
out the border so that each piece locks into the next. This will 
then be put together first by the player and will serve to hold 
the picture together. After the puzzle is cut up it is well to 
varnish each piece with paper varnish, which keeps it clean and 
preserves it. 



What Shall We Do Now? 227 

A simple puzzle can be made by pasting the picture on card- 
board and cutting it up with scissors or a sharp knife. 

Every one who has seen Mr. Devant at the Egyptian Hall Shadows on 
knows that shadowgraphy nowadays has progressed a long way the wall. 




SHADOWS ON THE WALL, 



from the rabbit on the wall ; but in the house, ambition in this 
accomplishment does not often extend further than that and one 
or two other animals, and this is why only the rabbit, dog, and 
swan are given here. The swan can be made more interesting 
by moving the arm which forms his neck as if he were prinking 
and pluming, an effect which is much heightened by ruffling up 



228 What Shall We Do Now? 

and smoothing down the hair with the fingers forming his beak. 
To get a clear shadow it is necessary to have only one light, and 
that fairly close to the hands. 

Soap bubbles. For blowing bubbles the long clay pipes called "churchwardens" 
are best. They cost a penny. Before using them, the end of the 
mouthpiece ought to be covered with sealing-wax for about an 
inch, or it may tear your lips. In a most interesting book on 
soap bubbles, by Mr. E. V. Boys, published by the S.P.C.K., there 
is a recipe for a soap mixture that makes bubbles of far more 
toughness than those blown from ordinary soap. As the 
preparations are rather complicated, it may serve here just to pass 
on Mr. Boys' preference for common yellow soap to scented soap 
(but oleate Castile soap, which you can get at any chemist's, is, 
he says, better), and rain-water to ordinary water. He also 
recommends adding a little of Price's glycerine. On a still 
summer day, bubble-blowing out-of-doors is a fascinating and 
very pretty occupation. 

Skeleton Leaves which are to be skeletonised should be picked from 

leaves. the trees at the end of June. They should be perfect ones of 

full growth. It is best to have several of each kind, as some are 
sure to be failures. Put the leaves in a big earthenware dish or 
pan, fill it with rain-water, and stand it in a warm and sunny 
place — the purpose of this being to soak off the green pulpy part. 
There is a great difference in the time which this takes : some 
fine leaves will be ready in a week, while others may need several 
months. Look at the leaves every day, and when one seems to 
be ready slip a piece of cardboard under it and shake it about 
gently in fresh cold water (tap water will do). If any green stuff 
remains, dab it with a soft brush and then put it into another 
basin of clean water. A fine needle can be used to take away 
any small and obstinate pieces of green. It is now a skeleton 
and must be bleached according to the following directions : — 
Pour into a large earthenware jar a pint of water on half a pound 



What Shall We Do Now? 229 

of chloride of lime. Mix thoroughly, breaking up any lumps 
with the hand. Add two and a half quarts of water, cover over, 
and leave for twenty-four hours. Then pour off the solution, 
leaving the sediment behind. Dissolve two pounds of soda in 
one quart of boiling water, and pour it, while on the boil, over 
the chloride solution. Cover it, and leave for forty-eight hours ; 
then decant into bottles, being careful to leave all sediment behind. 

Fill an earthenware dish with this solution, lay the leaves in 
it, and cover tightly. The leaves will be bleached in six to 
twelve hours. They should be taken out directly they are white, 
as the lime makes them very brittle. After bleaching, rinse the 
leaves in cold water, float them on to cards, and dry between 
blotting-paper, under a heavy weight. 

It should be noted that if you intend to skeletonise ferns, Ferns. 
they should not be picked before August, and they must be 
pressed and dried before they are put into the bleaching solution, 
in which they ought to stay for three or four days. The solution 
should be changed on the second day, and again on the fourth. 
After bleaching they can be treated just as the leaves are. 

Cut out two rings of cardboard, of whatever size you like, Wool balls. 
from one inch in diameter up to about four inches. A four-inch 
ring would make as large a ball as one usually needs, and a one- 
inch ring as small a one as could be conveniently made. The 
rim of the largest rings should not be wider than half an inch. 
Take a ball of wool and, placing the cardboard rings together, 
tie the end of it firmly round them. Then wind the wool over 
the rings, moving them round and round to keep it even. At 
first you will be able to push the ball through the rings easily, 
but as the wool is wound the hole will grow smaller and smaller, 
until you have to thread the wool through with a needle. To do 
this it is necessary to cut the wool into lengths, which you must 
be careful to join securely. Go on until the hole is completely 
filled and you cannot squeeze another needle through. Then 



230 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Wool 
demons. 



Bead-work 
and other 
occupations. 



slip a pair of scissors between the two rings and cut the wool all 
round them ; and follow this up quickly by slipping a piece of 
string also between them and tying it tightly round the wool that 
is in their midst. This is to keep the loose ends, which were 
made directly you cut the wool with the scissors, from coming 
out. All that is now necessary is to pull out the cardboard rings 
and shape the ball a little in your hands. The tighter the wool 
was bound round the cards, the smaller and harder the ball will 
be and the more difficult will it be to cut the wool neatly and 
tie it. Therefore, and especially as the whole purpose of a wool 
ball is softness and harmlessness, it is better to wind the wool 
loosely and to use thick wool rather than thin. 

To make a " Wool Demon," take a piece of cardboard as 
wide as you want the demon to be tall, say three inches, and 
wind very evenly over it wool of the colour you want the demon 
to be. Scarlet wool is perhaps best. Wind it about eighty 
times, and then remove carefully and tie a piece round about half 
an inch from the top to make the neck. This also secures the 
wool, the lower looped ends of which can now be cut. When cut, 
gather up about twenty pieces each side for the arms, and, 
holding them firmly, bind them round with other wool, and cut 
off neatly at the proper length. Then tie more wool round to 
form the body. The legs and tail are made in the same way as 
the arms, except that wool is wound round the legs, beginning 
from the feet and working upwards, only to the knees, leaving a 
suggestion of knickerbockers. Eyes and other features can be 
sewn on in silk. 

Among other occupations which are not in need of careful 
description, but which ought to be mentioned, bead-work is im- 
portant. It was once more popular than it now is ; but beads in 
many beautiful colours are still made (Whiteley's keep a great 
stock), and it is a pity that their advantages should be neglected. 
Bead -work lasts longer and is cleaner and brighter than any 



What Shall We Do Now? 231 

other form of embroidery. Perhaps the favourite use to which 
beads are now put is in the making of napkin-rings. Bead- 
flowers are made by threading beads on wire and bending them 
to the required shapes. Boxes of materials are sold in toy-shops. 
Another interesting occupation lately introduced into toy-shops 
is cane-weaving, the nature of which is described in a little book 
by Miss Lucy R. Latter, published by Pitman. 

" Post Office " is a device for providing the family with a sure Post office. 
supply of letters. The first thing to do is to appoint a post- 
master and fix upon the positions for the letter-boxes. Perhaps 
one will be in the nursery, one in the garden, one in a corner of 
the hall. You then write letters to each other and to any one 
in the house, and post them where you like ; and at regular times 
the postmaster collects them and delivers them. 

In " The Home Newspaper," the first thing to do is to decide The home 
on which of you will edit it. As the editor usually has to copy newspaper. 
all the contributions into the exercise-book, it is well that a good 
writer should be chosen. Then you want a good title. It is 
better if the contributors are given each a department, because 
that will make the work more simple. Each number should 
have a story and some poetry. Home newspapers, as a rule, 
come out once a month. Once a week is too often to keep up. 
There is a good description of one in a book by E. Nesbit, called 
The Treasure-Seekers. 

Paper and Cardboard Toys 

To make a cocked hat, take a sheet of stiff paper and A cocked 
double it. Then fold over each of the doubled corners until at - 
they meet in the middle. The paper will then resemble Fig. i 
on p. 230. Then fold AB AB over the doubled corners ; fold 
the corresponding strip of paper at the back to balance it, and 
the cocked hat is ready to be worn. If it is to be used in 
charades, it is well to pin it here and there to make it secure. 



232 



What Shall We Do Now ? 



Paper boats. If the cocked hat is held in the middle of each side and 

pulled out into a square, and the two sides are then bent back 




COCKED HAT (Fig. I). 

to make another cocked hat (but of course much smaller) ; and 
then, if this cocked hat is also pulled out into a square, it will 




A PAPER BOAT : EARLY STAGE (Fig. 2). 



look like Fig. 2. If the sides A and A are held between the 
finger and thumb and pulled out, a paper boat will be the result, 
as in Fig. 3. 



What Shall We Do Now? 



233 



Take a sheet of stiffish paper about the size of this page Paper darts. 
and fold it longways, exactly double. Then fold the corners 




A PAPER BOAT : COMPLETE STAGE (Fig. 3). 

of one end back to the main fold, one each side. The paper 
sideways will then look as in Fig. i. Then double these 




r»<««£. i 




(TiGUGe 3 



A PAPER DART. 




folded points, one each side, back to the main fold. The paper 
will then look as in Fig. 2. Repeat this process once 
more. The paper will then look as in Fig. 3. Compress 
the folds very tightly, and open out the top ones, so that in 
looking down on the dart it will have the appearance of 
Fig. 4. The dart is then ready for use. 



234 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Paper mats. Take a square piece of thin paper (Fig. i), white or 

coloured. Fold it in half (Fig. 2), and then again in half 
(Fig- 3), and then again from the centre to the outside 
corner, when it will be shaped as in Fig. 4. If you want a 
round mat, cut it as marked by the dotted line in Fig. 4 ; if 
square, leave it as it is. Remember that when you cut folded 
paper the cuts are repeated in the whole piece as many times as 
there are folds in the paper. The purpose of folding is to make 





FK.S". F14 4. P"»«j? 



Pie,. 1. 




A PAPER MAT. 



the cuts symmetrical. Bearing this in mind cut Fig. 4 as much 
as you like, as suggested by Fig. 5. Perhaps it would be well to 
practise first of all on a rough piece. The more delicate the cuts 
the prettier will be the completed mat. 



Paper boxes. Take an exactly square piece of paper (cream-laid note-paper 

is best in texture), and fold it across to each corner and press 
down the folds. Unfold it and then fold each corner exactly 
into the middle, and press down and unfold again. The lines of 
fold on the paper will now be seen to run from corner to corner, 
crossing in the middle, and also forming a square pattern. The 
next thing is to fold over each corner exactly to the line of this 
square on the opposite half of the paper. When this is done, and 
the paper is again straightened out, the lines of fold will be as in 
Fig. 1 (on p. 235). Cut out the triangles marked X in Fig. 1, and 
the paper will be as in Fig. 2. Then cut along all the dotted 
lines in Fig. 2, and stand the opposite corners up to form the sides 



What Shall We Do Now? 



235 



and lid of the box : first A and B, which are fastened by folding 
back the little flaps at the tip of A, slipping through the slit at 
the tip of B, and then unfolding them again ; and then C and D, 
which are secured in the same way. 




£i<;urt.S t 



A PAPER BOX, 



Cardboard boxes, of a more useful nature than paper boxes, Cardboard 
are made on the same principle as the house described on boxes. 
p. 195, and the furniture to go in it, as described later in the same 
chapter. The whole box can be cut in the fiat, out of one piece 
of cardboard, and the sides afterwards bent up and the lid 
down. Measurements must of course be exact. The prettiest 
way to join the sides is to use sarsenet instead of paper, and the 
lid may be made to fasten by a little bow of the same material. 

Paper boxes, when finished, can be made more attractive by Scraps and 
painting on them, gumming scraps to them, putting transfers here transfers. 
and there, or covering them with spatter-work (see p. 223). 
Scraps can be bought at most stationers' in a very great variety. 
Transfers, which are taken off by moistening in water, pressing 
on the paper with the slithery clouded surface downwards, and 



236 



What Shall We Do Now? 



being gently slipped along, used to be more common than they 
now are. 

Directions how to make many other paper things will be 
found on pp. 198-217. 

A dancing The accompanying picture will show how a dancing man is 

man. made to dance. You hold him between the finger and thumb, 



Hand 
dra&ofis. 




A dancing man (back view). 

one on each side of his waist, and pull the string. The hinges 
for the arms and legs, which are made of cardboard, can be made 
of bent pins or little pieces of string knotted on each side. 

All the apparatus needed for a " Hand Dragon" consists of a 
little cardboard thimble or finger-stall, on which the features of a 
dragon have been drawn in pen and ink or colour. This is then 
slipped over the top of the middle finger, so that the hand 
becomes its body and the other fingers and thumb its legs. 



What Shall We Do Now? 



237 



With the exercise of very little ingenuity in the movement of the 
fingers, the dragon can be made to seem very much alive. The 
accompanying picture should explain everything. 





THE HAND DKACON. 



The fashioning of people and animals from scraps of Velvet 
velvet gummed on cardboard was a pleasant occupation which animals. 
interested our great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers when 
they were children many years ago. Photographs of two of 
these pretty figures are given. In the boy arid St. Bernard (on 
p. 238), the boy's head, hands, collar, and pantaloons, and the 
dog, are made of white velvet painted. The boy's tunic is black 
velvet, and its belt a strip of red paper. The dog's eye is a black 
pin -head. The whole is mounted on a wooden stand with 
wooden supports at the back, one running up to the boy's head 
and the other to the tip of the dog's tail. In the case of 
the girl on the pony (on p. 239), the pony is of black velvet, 
and the girl of white velvet painted. The girl's hat is a 
piece of cardboard, her collar a piece of lace, the saddle a 
piece of paper, and the reins a piece of thread. With some 
scraps of white and black velvet, and a little patience and 
ingenuity, one could make all the animals on a farm and many 
in the Zoo. 



2 3 8 



What Shall We Do Now? 




What Shall We Do Now? 239 




GIRL AND PONY IN VELVET ON CARDBOARD. 



240 



What Shall We Do Now ? 



Other uses 
for card- 
board. 



Once you have begun to make things out of cardboard, you 
will find no end to its possibilities and should be in no more need 
of any hints. After building, furnishing, and peopling a dolls' 
house, a farm or a menagerie would be an interesting enterprise 
to start upon. E. M. R. has a stud of ninety-two horses, each 
named, and each provided with a horse-cloth, a groom, and harness. 
She has also several regiments of soldiers and a staff of nurses, 
all cut from cardboard and painted. She chooses her horses 
from Cotmtry Life, or some such paper, and copies them. 
Another enthusiast has a cardboard theatre in which plays and 
pantomimes are performed. 

It might be added that cardboard figures can be made to 
stand up either by leaving a strip of cardboard at the bottom, in 
which teeth can be cut and bent alternately one way or the other, 
or by slipping the feet into grooves cut in little blocks of wood. 

Particulars of " Snap " cards and other home-made cards will 
be found on pp. 67 and 68. 



Boys' Toys 

Kites. In China, and to some extent in Holland, kite-flying is not 

the pastime only of boys, but of grave men. And certainly grave 
men might do many more foolish things. To feel a kite pulling 
at your hands, to let out string and see it climb higher and higher 
and higher into the sky — this is a real joy. For good kite-flying 
you want plenty of room and a steady wind ; hence a common or 
heath is the best place, unless you are at the sea-side when there 
is a wind off the land, in which case you can fly your kite from 
the beach. To make an ordinary, serviceable kite, take two laths 
(which can be bought for a penny from any builder), one three feet 
long (AA in the picture) and the other two feet (BB). Screw BB 
with two screws exactly in the middle, at right angles to AA, 
at C, a foot from the top. Then take some stout twine of good 
quality and make the outline of the kite by tying it securely to 



What Shall We Do Now? 



241 



the ends of each of the laths. Next take the thinnest unbleached 
calico you can find, stretch it fairly tightly, and sew it over the 
strings. (Or strong but light paper will do, pasted over the string.) 
Make a hole (D) through the upright lath and calico, midway 



ft 




between the cross-piece and the top, and another hole (E) about 
fifteen inches below the cross-piece, and tie a strong string, two 
and a half feet long, to these holes, with a loop (F) in it a foot from 
the top hole. To this loop you will tie the string of the kite. 
The tail (G) is made of pieces of paper about six inches long, 

R 



242 What Shall We Do Now? 

rolled tightly and tied at distances of a foot. Its exact length 
will depend on the strength of the wind and can be determined 
only by experience, but, roughly speaking, it should be five times 
the height of the kite, or, with the kite which we are making, 
fifteen feet long. It is best to have the tail in two or three pieces, 
and then it can be lengthened or shortened at will. For instance, 
if the kite plunges in the air and will not keep steady, the tail is 
not long enough ; but if it will go up only a little way, the tail is 
probably too long. Be sure to have plenty of string, carefully 
wound, so that there will be no hitches in paying it out. When 
starting a kite you need the help of some one who will stand 
about thirty yards away, holding the kite against the wind, and 
throw it straight up when you have the line tight and give the 
signal. If it does not rise it may be well for you to run a few 
yards against the wind. At first you must not pay out line very 
rapidly, but when the kite is flying steadily you may give it, also 
steadily, all the string it wants. 

Kite A messenger is a piece of cardboard or paper with a good- 

messengers. sized hole in it, which you slip over the string when the kite is 
steady, and which is carried right up to the kite by the wind. 

A simple toy The following directions, with exact measurements, apply to 
boat. one f the simplest home-made sailing-boats. Take a piece of 

soft straight-grained pine, which any carpenter or builder will let 
you have, one foot long, four inches wide, and two inches deep. 
On the top of the four-inch side draw an outline as in Fig. I, 
in which you will be helped by first dividing the wood by the 
pencil line AB, exactly in the middle. Then turn the block over 
and divide the under four-inch side with a similar line, and placing 
the saw an eighth of an inch each side of this line, cut two incisions 
right along the wood about a quarter of an inch deep. The 
portion between these two incisions forms the keel. Then carry 
the line up the middle of the end A, and repeat the incisions as 



What Shall We Do Now? 



243 



along the bottom, these making the boat's stem-post. Next turn 
to the top again, and make a line, similar to the dotted line CC 
in Fig. 1, about three-eighths of an inch inside the outline of 
the boat, and then carefully hollow out with a gouge everything 
inside this dotted line. It must be very carefully done ; it is 
better, indeed, to err on the side of not hollowing her out enough, 
and then a little more can be removed afterwards. Next shape 




£\$ytf£ 3. 




A SIMPLE TOY BOAT. 



the outside, first with a saw and then with a chisel, again using the 
utmost care. Try to give her a fine bow, or " entry," and a good 
clean stern, or " run." If the boat were cut in two crossways in 
the middle, the section ought to resemble that in Fig. 2. This 
flat " floor " will be graduated away to nothing at bow and stern. 
Next fix on the lead keel (see K in Fig. 3), which should be a 
quarter of an inch thick, a quarter of an inch deep at the bow, 
and three-quarters at the stern, fastened on with four long thin 



244 



What Shall We Do Now? 



screws. Next make the deck, which should not be more than an 
eighth of an inch thick and should fit very closely at the edges. 

The mast (C), which should be about three-eighths of an inch 
in diameter at the foot, and should taper slightly, must stand 
one foot above the deck, and pass through the deck four and a 
half inches from the bow. First pass it through the hole in the 
deck and place it in position, leaning a little back from the bows ; 
then slip up the deck and mark the place in the bottom of the 
boat where the mast rests, and there fix, with four small brass 



© 



^ 



Fi^.ft. 



ft*.* 



DIAGRAMS FOR A SIMPLE TOY BOAT. 



screws, a block of wood with a hole in it, into which the mast can 
be firmly " stepped." Then on the upper side of the deck, just in 
front of the mast-hole, screw a small eyelet. This is to hold the 
line called the foresail sheet (L), but as the deck is only an eighth 
of an inch thick you must place a little block of wood under the 
deck, into which the eyelet can be screwed. Directly this is done, 
the deck is ready to be screwed firmly to the boat with brass 
screws. If you are in any doubt as to its being water-tight, you 
had better bore a hole in it and put a cork in, so that you can tip 
it up and empty it after each voyage. 

The bowsprit (J), a quarter of an inch in diameter, should be 
three and a half inches long, two inches of which project beyond 
the bow. Screw it firmly to the boat. You have now to shape 



What Shall We Do Now? 245 

the boom (F) and gaff (D), which must have a fork at the end, as 
in Fig. 4, to embrace the mast, the ends of this fork being joined 
by string. The boom should be eight and a half inches long and 
three-eighths of an inch in diameter, and the gaff five inches long 
and a quarter of an inch in diameter. The gaff is kept in position, 
about three inches from the mast-head, by the throat halyards 
and peak halyards, to which we now come. The peak halyards 
(H), throat halyards (G), and foresail halyards (F) should be of 
very fine fishing-line. After being tied respectively to the gaff 
and foresail, they pass through small holes in the mast, down to 
eyelets screwed into the bulwarks on each side of the mast. 

The foresail sheet (L) and main sheet (M), which are some 
four inches long, are hitched to eyelets screwed into the deck 
amidships, one just in front of the mast, as already explained, 
and the other about two inches from the stern. The sails must 
be of thin calico, neatly hemmed round. Both sails should come 
to about three inches of the head of the mast. The foresail is 
fastened only to the tip of the bowsprit, the foresail halyards, 
and foresail sheet ; the mainsail to the gaff, all along, and to 
each end of the boom. 

Nothing has been said about a rudder, because a boat built 
and rigged in the manner described would balance herself, and 
so keep on any course on which she was laid. With a very little 
wind she ought to cross and recross a pond without any hitch, 
all that will be necessary being to let the sails have plenty of 
play, by loosening the foresail sheet and main sheet, and to give 
her a steady push. 

To make a boat from a walnut shell, you scoop out the half Walnut 
shell and cut a piece of cardboard of a size to cover the top. s ^ e ^ boats. 
Throu"- 1 . .he middle of this piece of cardboard you thrust a match, 
and then, dropping a little sealing-wax into the bottom of the 
shell, and putting some round the edge, you fix the match and the 
cardboard to it. A sail is made by cutting out a square of paper 



246 



What Shall We Do Now? 



and fastening it to the match by means of two holes ; but the 
boat will swim much better without it. 

Walnut Here it might be remarked that capital contests can be 

fights- had with the empty halves of walnut shells. A plate is turned 

upside down, and the two fighters place their walnuts point to 
point in the middle. At the given word they begin to push, one 
against the other, by steady pressure of finger and thumb on 
the stern of the shell. The battle is over when the prow of one 
shell crashes through the prow of the other. This always happens 
sooner or later, but sometimes the battles are long and severe. 
At the end of each contest the number of shells defeated by the 
victor should be marked on it, and it should be carefully kept for 
the next conflict. At school we used to have tremendous ex- 
citement when two champions met, a walnut with a record of 
520, for instance, and another with 700. The winner in such 
a battle as this would, of course, be numbered 1221, because 
you always add not only your defeated adversary to your score, 
but all his victims too. 

Suckers. A sucker is a round piece of strong leather. Thread a piece 

of string through the middle, and knot the string at the end to 
prevent it being pulled through. Soak the sucker in water until 
it is soft, and then press it carefully over a big smooth stone, 
or anything else that is smooth, so that no air can get in. If 
you and the string are strong enough, the sucker will lift great 
weights. 



Skipjacks. The merrythought of a goose makes a good skipjack. It 

should be cleaned and left for a day or two before using. Then 
take a piece of strong thin string, double it, and tie it. ? r m\y to 
the two ends of the merrythought, about an inch froi 1 the end on 
each side. Take a strip of wood a little shorter than the bone, 
and cut a notch round it about half an inch from one end. Then 



What Shall We Do Now? 



247 



slip it half way between the double string, and twist the string 
round and round until the resistance becomes really strong. 
Then pull the stick through to the notch, into which the string 
will settle, and tie it at each side, so that it is not likely to slip 
either way. A little piece of cobblers' wax must be put on the 




A SKIPJACK. 

bone on the other side to that where the stick naturally touches. 
Pull the stick right over to stick on the wax, and lay the skipjack, 
stick downwards, on the ground. In a little while the wax will 
give way, and the merrythought will spring high into the air. 

The cut-water is best made of tin or lead, but stout cardboard a water- 
or wood will serve the purpose. First cut the material into a cutter. 
round, and then make teeth in it like a saw. Thus : — 




A WATER-CUTTER. 



Then bore two holes in it, as in the drawing, and thread strings 
through them, tying the strings at each end. Hold the strings 
firmly, and twist them a little. Then, by pulling at them to 
untwist them, the cut-water will be put in motion, first one way, 
while they are being untwisted, and then the other, while they 



248 



What Shall We Do Now? 



twist up again. If held just over a basin of water, the notches 
will send spray a great distance, but you must be careful to dip 
them only when the cut-water is revolving away from you, or you 
will be soaked. 

Whistles. With a sharp knife a very good whistle can be made of hazel 

or willow, cut in the spring or early summer. A piece of -wood 
about three inches long should be used. Remember what an 
ordinary tin whistle is like, and cut the mouthpiece at a similar 
angle, and also cut a little nick out of the bark, in the place of 
the hole immediately beyond the mouthpiece in the metal in- 
strument. Then cut all round the bark about an inch from , the 
other end of the stick, hold the bark firmly with one hand clasped 
round it, and hold the inch at the opposite end firmly with the 
fingers of the other, and pull. The greater portion of bark should 
slide off quite easily. You will then have a tube of bark about 
two inches long, and a white stick about three inches long, with 
an inch of bark remaining on it. Gut from the mouthpiece end of 
this stick as much as exactly fits between the end and the little 
nick in the bark which you have already made. Shave the top 
until it is flat (just as in an ordinary whistle), and place it inside 
the bark again. Then cut off from the white part of the stick 
all but a quarter of an inch : fit this into the other end of the 
bark tube, and you ought to get a good shrill whistle. It will 
be better if you keep a pea inside. 



Evergree7i 
decorations. 



Christmas 

Getting ready for Christmas is almost as good as Christmas 
itself. The decorations can be either natural or artificial, or a 
mixture of both. In using evergreens for ropes, it is best to have 
a foundation of real cord of the required length, and tie the pieces 
of shrub and ivy to it, either with string or floral wire. This 
prevents any chance of its breaking. For a garland or any device 



What Shall We Do Now? 249 

of a definite shape, the foundation could be a stiffer wire, or laths 
of wood. Ivy chains are described on page 103. 

The simplest form of paper chain is made of coloured tissue Paper 
paper and gum. You merely cut strips the size of the links and decorations. 
join them one by one. Unfortunately the colours in which tissue 
paper is made are not very satisfactory. Far better tints are to 
be had in lining papers, but this is less cheap, and, being coloured 
only on one side, there is apt to be a good deal of white on view 
in the completed chain. It is also more brittle than tissue paper. 

For paper flowers, paper and tools are especially made. But 
for the purposes of home decoration ordinary tissue paper, wire, 
gum, and scissors will serve well enough. 

Mottoes and good wishes can be lettered in cotton wool on Mottoes. 
a background of scarlet or other coloured linen or lining paper. 
Scarlet is perhaps the most cheery. Or you can make more 
delicate letters by sewing holly berries on to a white background ; 
and small green letters can be made by sewing box leaves on a 
white background. For larger green letters and also for border- 
ing, holly leaves and laurel leaves are good. Cotton-wool makes 
the best snow. 

In hanging things on the Christmas tree you have to be Christmas 
careful that nothing is placed immediately over a candle, nor trees. 
should a branch of the tree itself be near enough to a candle to 
catch fire. After all the things are taken off the tree there is no 
harm in its burning a little, because the smell of a burning 
Christmas tree is one of the best smells there is. To put 
presents of any value on the tree is perhaps a mistake, partly 
because they run a chance of being injured by fire or grease, and 
partly because they are heavy. The best things of all are 
candles, as many as possible, and silver balls which reflect. On 
the top there should, of course, be either a Father Christmas ; or a 
Christ child, as the Germans, who understand Christmas trees 
even better than we do, always have. For lighting the candles a 



250 



What Shall We Do Now? 



long taper is useful, and for putting them out, an extinguisher 
tied to a stick. 



Bran-tubs. 



Philopenas. 



Cherry 
contests. 



Bran-tubs are not so common as they used to be, but there 
is no better way of giving your guests presents at random. As 
many presents as there are children are wrapped up in paper and 
hidden in a tub filled with bran. This is placed on a dust-sheet, 
and the visitors dip their hands in and pull out each a parcel. 
The objection to the bran-tub is that boys sometimes draw out 
things more suitable for girls. This difficulty could be got over 
by having two tubs, one for girls and one for boys. 

Two games with nuts and cherries may as well go at the end 
of this section as anywhere else. Barcelona nuts and almonds 
sometimes contain double kernels. These are called Philopenas, 
and you must never waste them by eating both yourself, but find 
some one to share them with. The rules of the game decree 
that whichever of you first says to the other " Good morning, 
Philopena," on the following day, or the next time you meet, 
wins a present. 

Cherry-eating races can be very exciting. The players stand 
in a row with their hands behind them, and a number of long- 
stalked cherries are chosen from the basket and placed by the 
tip of the stalk between their teeth. At the word of command 
the players begin their efforts to draw the cherry up by the stalk 
into their mouths. All heads must be held down. 



COOKING 



COOKING 

I HIS book being a play-book, the cooking recipes which follow 
.ii' for sweets, all of which can be made with very little trouble 
on a nursery fire, Readers who are permitted to experiment with 
pol-, and pans and the kitchen range, or who are fortunate enough 
to have a stove of their own, will find The Child's Cookery Book, 
by Mrs. Tate, a useful work. 

For making sweets you will need a copper, enamel, or Utensils. 
earthenware saucepan ; a long wooden spoon ; one or two old 
soup plates or dishes ; a basin, if there is any mixing to be done; 
a cup of cold water for testing ; a silver knife ; and, if you are not 
cooking in the kitchen, a piece of oil-cloth or several thicknesses 
of brown paper to lay on the table. 

I 'a i tier the dish into which the sweet is to be poured before General 
you begin to cook. To do this put a little piece of butter on a directions. 
piece of clean soft paper and rub it all over the dish. 

Always stir round the edge as well as the middle of the 
saucepan. Stir slowly but continually, for sweets burn very 
quickly if left alone. 

The flavouring should be added just before taking the sauce- 
pan off the fire. 

To find out if your toffee or sweet has boiled long enough, 
drop a little in the cup of cold water. if it at once becomes 
crisp and hard, it is done. 

Before your toffee is quite cold, mark it with a silver knife 
into squares. This will make it break up more easily and neatly 
when cold. 



254 What Shall We Do Now? 

Barley Sugar 

i lb. castor sugar. \ a pint of water. 

The white of an egg. \ a lemon. 

Dissolve the sugar in the water, and add the well-beaten white 
of an egg (this must be done before the mixture is heated). Then 
put on the fire in a strong saucepan. Remove all scum as it 
rises, and when the syrup begins to look clear, take off the fire 
and strain through muslin. Put the syrup back into the sauce- 
pan and let it boil quickly until you find by testing it that it is 
done. Then add the juice of the lemon and pour on to a buttered 
dish. Before the mixture sets cut it into strips and twist. 

Chocolate Caramels 

i tea-cup golden syrup or treacle. 2 oz. butter. 

1 tea-cup brown sugar. 4 oz. powdered chocolate. 

I tea-cup milk. A pinch of salt. 

16 drops of vanilla. 

Boil all together for half an hour, stirring continually. 

Cocoanut caramels are made in the same way, except that 
I oz. of grated or desiccated cocoanut is used instead of the 
chocolate. 

Cocoanut Cream 

i|- lb. loaf sugar. 4 oz. grated cocoanut. Cochineal. 

Melt the sugar with as little water as possible. Continue to 
let it boil gently until the syrup begins to return to sugar again. 
Directly this happens put in the cocoanut and mix thoroughly. 
Pour half of the mixture into a fiat dish or tin, mix a little 
cochineal with the other half, and pour it quickly on the first half. 



Cocoanut Cream (another way) 

1 cocoanut, grated. |- a cup of cocoanut-milk. 

1 lb. loaf sugar. 1 oz. butter. 

Put the sugar, cocoanut-milk, and butter into a saucepan. 



What Shall We Do Now? 255 

When they boil, add the cocoanut gradually. Boil for ten 
minutes, stirring all the time. Pour the mixture into a basin 
and beat till nearly cold, then turn out into a dish, colouring 
half of the cream pink as before. 



Cocoanut Drops 

^ lb. cocoanut, grated. \ lb. white sugar. 

The whites of 2 eggs, well beaten. 

Mix well together and bake in drops on buttered paper for 
fifteen minutes. 



Cream Caramels 

i tin Nestle's milk. 2 oz. butter. 

i lb. soft white sugar. Vanilla. 

Melt the sugar with a very little water, and when boiling add 
the butter and Nestle's milk. Stir continually, as the mixture 
burns very easily, for fifteen minutes. Try in water to see if it 
will set. Add the vanilla, pour into a dish, and beat until nearly 
cold. 

i oz. of cocoanut or 2 of grated chocolate can be used instead 
of vanilla to flavour the above. 



Fruit Cream 

I cocoanut, grated. 
1 .'; lb. granulated sugar, moistened with a little cocoanut-milk. 

Put the sugar in a saucepan and let it heat slowly. Then boil 
rapidly five minutes ; add grated cocoanut, and boil ten minutes. 
Stir constantly. Put a little on a cold plate, and if it makes a 
firm paste, take from fire. Pour part of it into a large tin lined 
with greased paper ; and add to what remains in the saucepan, 



256 What Shall We Do Now? 

chopped blanched almonds, candied cherries, nuts, etc. Pour 
this over the other cream, and cut in bars. 

Pop-Corn 

The corn has to be " popped " over a clear fire in a little iron 
basket with a long handle. The corn is put in the basket and 
shaken continually, and in time each grain pops suddenly and 
becomes a little irregular white ball. These can be eaten with 
salt, or rolled in a sweet syrup (coloured and flavoured as you 
like it best) made of rr lb. of white sugar boiled for ten minutes 
with a very little water. 

The Plainest Toffee 

3 oz. butter. I lb. brown sugar. 

Stir until done. 

Another Toffee 

i lb. raw sugar. 2 small tablespoonfuls of treacle. 

^ lb. butter. The juice of half a lemon. 

Half a teaspoonful of powdered ginger. 

Melt the butter in a saucepan, and then add the sugar, treacle, 
and ginger. Stir continually, adding a little lemon juice every 
now and then. Boil for ten minutes, and then test in cold water. 

2 oz. of blanched and split almonds can be added to the 
above. The almonds should either be mixed with the toffee just 
before taking it off the fire, or else a well-buttered dish should be 
lined with them and the toffee poured over. 

To blanch almonds, put them in a bowl or jam-pot and cover 
them with boiling water. Put a saucer over the bowl to keep 
the steam in, and leave for about three minutes. Then take out 
the almonds one by one and rub off their brown skins between 
your fingers. 



What Shall We Do Now? 257 

Everton Toffee 

I lb. brown sugar. r small cup of water. 

1 lb. of butter. 

Boil the water and sugar together very gently until the sugar 
is melted. Then add the butter and boil all together for half an 
hour. 

Treacle Toffee 

^ lb. treacle. |- lb. brown sugar. 

2 oz. butter. 

Boil all together for half an hour. 

Nut Toffee 

1 pint of chopped nuts. 3 oz. butter. 

^ lb. brown sugar. Juice of one lemon. 

Tablespoonful of water. 

Boil everything, except the nuts, for twenty minutes, stirring 
all the time. Test, and if done, add the nuts. Stir them in 
thoroughly and pour off into a dish. 

Nut Toffee (another way) 

I lb. brown sugar. 6 oz. butter. 

3 oz. chopped nuts. 

Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the sugar. Boil from 
ten to fifteen minutes and then add the nuts. Walnuts, Brazil 
nuts, almonds, or pea nuts (which have been baked) may be used. 

Peppermint Toffee 

1 lb. treacle. 2 oz. butter. 

1 small teaspoonful of essence of peppermint. 

Boil the butter and treacle very gently until the mixture 
hardens when tested in water. Add the peppermint and pour 
into well-buttered dishes. 

s 



258 What Shall We Do Now? 

Stuffed Dates, etc. 

Very dainty and good sweets can be made without cooking 
at all. All that is necessary is to have a certain amount of cream 
with which to stuff or surround stoned dates, cherries, and French 
plums, or walnuts and almonds. 

The cream is made in this way. Put the white of an egg and 
one tablespoonful of water into a bowl, and into this stir gradually 
I lb. of confectioner's sugar (confectioner's sugar or " icing " is the 
only kind that will do), working it very smooth with a spoon. 
This will make a stiff paste, which can be moulded into whatever 
shape you please. The cream can then be divided into different 
portions, and each portion flavoured as you like best. A few drops 
of vanilla or lemon juice, a little grated cocoanut or chocolate, or 
some pounded almonds, make excellent flavourings. Part of it can 
be coloured pink with cochineal, or green with spinach-colouring. 

When this is done, stone some dates, French plums, or raisins, 
or blanch some almonds and slit them in two, or have ready a 
number of the dried walnuts which can be bought at any grocer's. 
Only the perfect halves must be used. Form some of the cream 
into little balls and put it between two walnut halves or two 
almond halves, or stuff the other fruit with it. Trim all the 
sweets very neatly with a knife and roll them in granulated 
sugar. This is prettier when it has been coloured pink or green, 
but there is no necessity to do so. 

To colour the sugar, mix about I oz. with a few drops of 
green or pink colouring ; dry it thoroughly, and, if the grains are 
not quite free, put the sugar between some paper and roll it, or 
crush with an iron. 

Another richer mixture for filling dates, etc., can be made as 
follows : — Mix \ lb. of ground almonds with I oz. of ground 
pistachios. Beat the whites of 3 eggs to a stiff froth and add the 
almonds and jjr lb. of confectioner's sugar. Colour with green. 
Almonds can be bought already ground. 



GARDENING 



GARDENING 

INTRODUCTORY 

The ordinary garden which is set apart for the young gardener 
is any odd corner of the large garden ; but if you really want to 
garden seriously, and are keen enough about it to take all the 
trouble which is necessary in growing beautiful flowers, beg for a 
good bed ; that is, one which has good soil, and is not altogether 
in the shade. Nothing is so discouraging as to work with poor 
stony soil in a corner where the sun rarely shines. But such a 
plot is good enough for the careless gardener who is content with 
mustard and cress and a few straggling annuals. A good bed is 
a responsibility, for it generally means that it is taken out of the 
care of an experienced person to be given to an entirely inexperi- 
enced one, and the new gardener will have a great deal of work 
and worry before it is worthy of the rest of the garden. But if 
one loves flowers, nothing so repays labour as gardening. 

It is your business, as a gardener, to know everything you can 
about your flowers. A gardener should be able to recognise seeds 
as well as seedlings ; to know what treatment each flower likes 
best ; and to exercise a special care for tender plants which need 
protection until there is no longer any danger of frost. The 
beauty of a flower depends very much upon its content. Many 
flowers need particular soils ; some need dry soil, some moisture, 
some shade, and some sun ; and the gardener, who is a kind of 
mother to the flowers, will have to remember all those things. 



262 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Colour in 
the garden. 



The use of 
catalogues. 



Garde?iing 
diaries. 



In return, the flowers, which have a real sense of gratitude to those 
who care for them tenderly, will do their best to grow beautiful. 

It is best to begin with a few flowers and to learn all that 
one can about these. Annuals will scarcely ever fail if carefully 
sown in good soil. In making your choice, choose so that you 
will have flowers from spring to autumn. Perennial plants are 
the most satisfactory of all to grow ; for once planted they 
need only a very little attention and increase in size each year. 
Bulbs produce some of the most beautiful flowers and are very 
easy to grow. But great care must be taken not to dig into 
them after their blossoms have died down. 

Besides those flowers for the growing of which directions are 
hereafter given there are many tender ones which must be raised 
in frames. This is a part of gardening which can well be left 
until later and upon which instructions can be found in any more 
advanced book on horticulture. 

In arranging a garden, select flowers which will keep it full 
of blossom from May to October, and remember when planting 
and sowing that some colours are more beautiful together than 
others. The colour arrangement of a garden is always difficult, 
but one must learn by experience. Scarlet and crimson, crimson 
and blue, should not be put together, and magenta -coloured 
flowers are never satisfactory. Whites and yellows, and whites 
and blues, are always suitable together, and for the rest you must 
please yourself. 

A good catalogue gives illustrations of most flowers, and in 
many cases its cultural directions are very helpful. As an ex- 
tension of the notes that follow nothing could be more useful 
than two or three catalogues issued by good growers. 

It is a good thing for a gardener to keep a diary. At the 
beginning of the book he would make a plan of the garden, to 
scale : that is to say, allowing one inch, or more, in the plan for 
every foot of bed. In this plan would be marked the position 
of the bulbs and perennial plants. The diary would take note of 



What Shall We Do Now? 263 

everything that happened in the garden. The sowing of seeds 
would be recOx r ded ; also when the seedlings first appear ; when 
they are thinned out, and when they blossom : in fact, everything 
to do with the life of the plants. A little collection of drawings 
of seedlings would be of great use in helping to distinguish them 
another year. At the end of the book might be written the 
names of any plants that the owner would like to have, or any 
special information about the culture of a plant, or the descrip- 
tion of some arrangement which had been admired in another 
garden. 

Where several children have gardens in the same big garden, Flower. 
or the same neighbourhood, a flower-show is very interesting to shows. 
hold now and then. To do this it is needful first to find some 
one willing to act as judge, and — if agreeable — to give several 
small prizes in addition to certificates of merit. The different 
things for which prizes are offered will depend, of course, upon 
what the competitors can grow. There might be prizes for 
different flowers, for collections of flowers, and for lettuces or 
radishes, if there are enough competitors who grow such things. 
But the most important prize would go perhaps to the owner of 
the best -kept garden. Another for the best arrangement of 
bunches of flowers, garden and wild, might lead to some very 
pretty bouquets. 

For simple gardening the following tools are needed : — Spade, Tools. 
trowel, hoe, rake, watering-can with a fine rose, syringe. They 
should all be strong and good. Besides these tools you will need 
either wooden labels or other home-made means of marking seeds, 
some strong sticks to use as supports for tall-growing plants, and 
bass to tie them up with. A pair of gloves — any old ones will 
do — is very necessary. 

Plants should never be watered when the sun is shining on Wateri?tg. 
them. Early morning in spring, and late afternoon or early 
evening in summer, is the best time. It is best to water with 
rain-water from the butt if possible, or, if not, with water which 



264 What Shall We Do Now? 

has been standing in the sun, or tap-water which has had the 
chill taken off it by adding a little warm water. In watering 
seedlings and tiny plants, keep the rose on your watering-can ; 
but with big plants it is better to take off the rose and pour 
the water gently, waiting every now and then for it to sink in 
round their roots. If the ground is very dry and baked, break 
up the surface of it round the plants with a rake, or push a fork 
carefully into the earth. This will help the water to sink in. 

Water very regularly during hot and dry weather. It is very 
hard on your plants to give them a splendid drink one day and 
to forget all about them for a week. 

Ferns should have a gentle spray bath every afternoon if you 
want to keep them fresh and green, and all leaves look the 
brighter for a shower from your watering-can. 

Perennial plants, annuals, and rose-trees will greatly benefit 
if watered with slop- water while they are flowering. 

If your garden is very small, but is against a sunny wall, the 
growing room can be increased by fixing a number of pockets, 
made of wood or of flower-pots, against the wall. These should 
be filled with good soil, and in them wallflowers, pinks, bulbs of 
different kinds, London Pride, Creeping Jenny, etc., can be planted. 

The first thing to do when a plot has been given to you, is 
to mark it off clearly with a border. There are several ways of 
doing this. Gardens are sometimes bordered with escallop shells, 
which are neat enough but seem rather out of place among flowers. 
Tiles make another tidy artificial border ; but the best is made 
of natural rough stones from 6 to I 2 inches long. These stones, 
which should be sunk into a groove, are soon covered with patches 
of green moss, and if between their irregular ends you drop a few 
seeds of low growing annuals, such as candytuft, gilia, or nemo- 
phila ; or plant little pieces of thyme, blue forget-me-not, purple 
aubretia, or any kind of rockfoil or stonecrop, the border will 
become one of the prettiest things in the garden. If you prefer 
a growing boundary, a very nice stiff little hedge can be made by 



What Shall We Do Now? 265 

sowing endive in a line all round the garden, and, after allowing 
it to run to seed, cutting and trimming it. But of course there 
is no natural border to compare with box ; but to get a good 
box hedge is a tedious matter. Ivy or white periwinkle will also 
serve well. 

The following calendar of garden labours, which gives at a The year's 
glance the principal duties for each month, may be found useful : — work. 

January. — Dig over your garden (if not already done), being 
careful not to injure roots or bulbs. Plant anemones and 
ranunculi. 

FEBRUARY. — Plant rose-trees and perennials. Coal ashes 
sprinkled on the crowns of perennials will prevent them from 
being attacked by slugs. 

March.— In the third week of March rake your bed smoothly 
over, pull up any weeds and prepare the soil for sowing seeds. 
Sow alyssum, candytuft, collinsia, coreopsis, cornflowers, esch- 
scholtzia, gilia, larkspur, love-in-a-mist, nemophila, poppies, sweet- 
peas, Virginia stock. Prune rose-trees. Plant perennials and 
rock plants. 

APRIL. — Sow again annuals mentioned in March, for later 
blooming. Sow canary creeper, godetia, gypsophila, marigold, 
mignonette, nasturtium, and sweet sultans. Weed. Water seed- 
lings if the weather is dry. Thin out seedlings. 

May. — Thin out all seedlings. If any have to be transplanted, 
do this on a dull day, if possible, and water well till established. 
Syringe roses and keep a sharp look-out for caterpillars. Sow 
sunflowers and convolvuli. Late in May buy seedlings of 
tender annuals or biennials, if required, and water well. Plant 
out geraniums, lemon verbena and heliotrope. Weed. 

June. — Water well if dry. If the earth becomes hard and 
caked, stir it with a rake or stick. Cut off all faded flowers. 
Syringe roses, using the preparation given on p. 281 if they 
are troubled by green -fly. Sow perennials in a shady place. 
Put stakes to tall plants, and thin sticks to carnations. Make 



266 What Shall We Do Now? 

cuttings of lavender, old-man, and rosemary. Divide spring- 
flowering plants, such as primroses, if they have grown too large. 

JULY. — Water regularly. Stir the earth if caked. Cut off 
faded flowers. Make cuttings of carnations and pinks. 

AUGUST. — Keep surface of the earth well broken. Water 
roses regularly. Make cuttings of geraniums and fuchsias. Stake 
chrysanthemums. Sow a few poppy seeds. 

September. — Plant crocuses, daffodils, irises, lilies, narcissus, 
scillas, star of Bethlehem, and winter aconite. Sow a few hardy 
annuals such as alyssum, cornflowers, godetia, and nemophila. 
Plant out biennials. 

October. — Plant gladiolus colvillei, hyacinths, tulips, snow- 
drops, and lilies of the valley. Divide any plants that have 
grown too large. Take up dahlia tubers and dry them. Plant 
perennials. Sow a few sweet-peas. 

November. — Plant perennials and bulbs, if not already in. 
Plant rose-trees. 

December. — Dig over beds. Protect rose-trees with bracken, 
straw, or manure. Protect bulbs with heather or bracken pegged 
neatly down. 

I. — Annual 

The seeds of all annuals can be sown from March until June ; 
but it is best to sow the greater part of them in the middle of 
March, unless the weather is very cold, when April is early enough. 
The seeds of favourite flowers should be sown several times at 
intervals of a fortnight, so that you may have a succession of 
them through summer and autumn. 

Preparations Before sowing any seeds, see that the soil is nicely broken 

for sowing, up, and remove any stones. 

When you have decided where to sow the different seeds, 
take away a little earth from each place and sow the seeds very 
thinly — remembering that each plant must be from 4 inches to 



What Shall We Do Now? 267 

1 2 inches apart ; cover lightly with the earth you took out and 

press it down firmly with your trowel. Then mark the place 

with little pieces of white wood, on which the names of the seeds 

have been written with an indelible pencil. It is much easier to 

sow the tiny seeds thinly if you first mix them with a little sand. 

These must be only just covered by a very fine sprinkling of earth ; 

but sweet-pea, nasturtium, and lupin seeds must be sown deeper. 

Begin to thin out the seedlings very soon after they appear, Thinning 

and be very careful not to pull up too many. It is easiest to out an< ^ 

thin out when the soil is wet. When the seedlings are 2 inches rans P an ' 

. i?ig. 

high only those which you wish to keep should be left in. It is 
not very easy to say exactly how much room to leave the 
different plants, but plants which will be 6 inches high should 
be about 3 inches apart ; those which will be 1 foot high about 
6 inches, and so on. Godetia, nasturtium, love-in-a-mist, nemo- 
phila, sweet- pea, cornflower, and larkspur seedlings can be 
transplanted when about 2 inches high, if you find you want 
them where they have not been sown. To do this water the 
ground well first, and then pull the seedlings out so gently that 
none of their tiny fibrous roots are snapped ; and, if possible, 
bring away a little earth with each. Re-plant them as quickly as 
you can, making for each a little hole big enough for the roots 
to spread out in. Hold the seedling in position, and fill in with 
very moist earth ; or else, after you have made the hole, fill it up 
with water, then put back some of the earth and stir it up into 
a sort of paste, and put the seedling in this, filling up the hole 
with the rest of the earth. Seedlings that have been transplanted 
must be kept moist until they have taken a good start, and if 
possible they should be shaded with a branch of evergreen, for 
they droop very quickly in the heat. 

All seedlings must be watered gently and often. If you 
notice how quickly the sun dries the surface of the ground, you 
will see how necessary it is to keep the ground moist until the 
roots get bigger and go down deep into the earth. 



268 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Weeds and 
seedlings. 



Autumn 

sowing. 



A list of 
annuals. 



It is most important to know what the baby-plants will look 
like when they come up, because one has to weed hard in the 
warm showery weather, and if one is not careful, mignonette, 
sweet-peas, and poppies may go on the rubbish heap, and chick- 
weed and groundsel be left on the flower-bed ; which, although it 
is what the birds like, will, later, be very disheartening to you. 
Of course, if your seeds are well marked, there will be less 
difficulty, but even then weeds will come up amongst them. 
The only safe way is to get to know the appearance of all the 
seedlings, and to help' you to remember it is a good thing to 
make little drawings of them in your garden notebook. 

Some seeds, such as cornflowers, godetias, nemophila, and 
poppies, can be sown in the autumn. They will stand the winter 
as a rule and will make finer plants and blossom earlier than if 
sown in spring. They should be sown thinly in open ground. 

A list of annuals that can be grown very easily and require 
no special knowledge, or anything but ordinary attention, is now 
given. It is, of course, very far indeed from completeness, but 
a garden containing only the flowers mentioned here would still 
be a very gay, sweet, and pleasant place. Every seed mentioned 
can be bought in penny packets. 



Name. 


1 Description. 


Height. 


Flowering Season. 


Alyssum Maritimum 


Clusters of little white sweet-scented 
flowers 


9 in. 


July to Oct. 


Canary Creeper 


A creeper covered with small bright 
yellow flowers 


Climbing 


July to Sept. 


Candytuft 


Spikes of white, crimson, and rose- 
coloured flowers. Sweet-scented 


6 to 12 in. 


May to July 


Collinsia 


Graceful little lilac-coloured flowers 


9 in. 


May to Aug. 


Convolvulus major . 


Large crimson, blue, purple, and white 
flowers 


Climbing 


July to Oct. 


Coreopsis 


Very pretty yellow daisy-like flowers . 


i to 3 ft. 


July to Sept. 


Cornflowers . 


Blue, pink, and white 


2 ft. 


July to Sept. 


Eschscholtzia. 


Lemon, orange, pink and white flowers, 
like poppies 


I ft. 


July to Sept. 





What Shall We Do Now? 


269 


Name. 


Description. 


Height. 


Flowering Season. 


Gilia 


Pretty little blue, white, and lavender 
flowers 


6 in. 


July to Sept. 


Godetia. 


Beautiful large cup - shaped, satiny 
flowers, crimson, rose, and white 


i ft. 


June to Sept. 


Gypsophila elegans. 


Feathery white flowers 


1 8 in. 


July to Sept. 


Larkspur 


Spikes of delicate white, pink, or blue 
flowers 


i to lift. 


July and Aug. 


Love-in-a-mist 


Pretty light blue and purple flowers 
growing out of thick feathery foliage 


I ft. 


June to Sept. 


Lupins . . 


Tall spikes of blue, yellow, rose, or 
white flowers 


I to 2| ft. 


July to Sept. 


Marigolds 


Yellow and orange daisy - shaped 
flowers 


I ft. 


July to Nov. 


'. Mignonette . 


Small cones of tiny green and brown 
flowers, very sweet-scented 


I ft. 


July to Oct. 


Nasturtiums . 


Very gay, bold flowers, orange, red, 


9 in. and 


July to Nov. 




yellow, and lemon-coloured. There 


climbing 






are both dwarf and climbing nas- 








turtiums 






Nemophila 


A little trailing plant with pretty 
bright blue flowers 


3 in. 


May to Sept. 


Poppies . 


Silky double and single flowers of 
nearly every colour 


6 in. to 3 ft. 


July and Aug. 


Sunflowers 


Gorgeous yellow flowers . 


3 to 8 ft. 


Sept. and Oct. 


"Sweet-Peas 


Pink, white, yellow, red, purple and 
striped. Very sweet 


3 ft- 


June to Oct. 


"Sweet Sultan . 


Large yellow, white and purple corn- 
flowers, sweet-scented 


lift. 


July and Aug. 


Virginia Stock 


A pretty little plant for edgings, red, 
white, and crimson 


i ft. 


May to Aug. 




Three Biennials. 1 






Canterbury Bells 


Blue, white, or purple bell - shaped 
flowers 


1 1 tO 2 ft. 


July 


Foxgloves 


Spotted, white, or yellow spikes 


Almost any 
height 


June and July 


Sweet William 


White, pink, or crimson flat heads of 
small blossoms 


4ft- 


July and Aug. 


1 Bi 


ennials are plants which, grown one year, bios 


iom the next. 





270 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Comments 
on the fore- 
going list 
of annuals. 



A few notes concerning several of the flowers in the above 
list are here given : — 

Sweet Alyssum. — A few seeds of this flower may be sown 
in September in a rockery, or in the border, as it is very hardy 
and will blossom earlier than if sown in spring. If prevented 
from seeding — by keeping its flowers cut- — it will blossom a 
second time in the same summer. 

Convolvulus Major. — This must not be sown until the begin- 
ning of May. 

Coreopsis. — Water the seedlings regularly as they like a 
moist soil. 

Cornfloivers. — These seedlings transplant well. Three plants, 
about 8 inches apart, make a nice little clump. It is best to 
keep the clumps to one colour. 

Godetias. — These flowers are worth growing with great care 
for they are very lovely and brilliant. The seedlings transplant 
easily. They must be watered well while flowering. 

Marigolds. — If you once have these in your garden it will 
be very difficult to get rid of them as they sow themselves so 
freely. But they are very bright and blossom gaily right into 
November. 

Mignonette. — These seedlings cannot be transplanted and 
they must be thinned out very severely. Leave 6 inches or 
more between each plant, and water well. The beginning of 
April is early enough to sow seed. It can also be sown in pots 
in August and kept out of doors until the nights are really cold. 
Do not leave more than five plants in a pot. 

Nasturthims. — Sow in an open sunny place, putting the seeds 
about 3 inches apart, and quite 1 inch deep. The Tom Thumb 
dwarf varieties, which are the best, can be bought in mixed 
packets for a penny. Among different kinds of Tom Thumbs 
are Empress of India, rich scarlet with dark leaves. Carnlea 
Rosea, rose colour, and Pearl, creamy white, are particularly 
beautiful. Nasturtium seedlings are easily transplanted. 



What Shall We Do Now? 271 

Poppies. — Poppies are very satisfactory flowers. They are 
beautiful and varied in colour ; no flower comes up so easily and 
so surely. You can count on having a plant from almost every 
seed. For this reason the seeds should be thinly sown (mixing 
them before sowing with a little sand) for it is a great pity to 
have to throw away numbers of delicate seedlings, and the 
plants must always be 6 inches apart. Shirley poppies are the 
most delicately beautiful of all. Their petals seem almost to be 
made of silk, and their colours — white, pink, salmon, and crimson 
— are Very lovely. The seeds are tiny and should have only a 
very slight covering of fine earth. The seedlings must be thinned 
out 6 inches apart if you want good plants. Ddnebrog is a large 
bright single scarlet poppy with a white blotch on each petal. 
The Mikado poppies are fringed and very gay. In addition to 
these there are the great double peony-flowered poppies- — red, 
salmon, white and purple, and also beautiful single white ones. 
Poppy seedlings will not transplant. 

Sunflowers. — These seeds should be sown in the first week in 
May, i inch deep. 

Sweet-Peas. — In many ways the best of all annuals, sweet- 
peas, need good soil. They should be sown in early spring in 
rows or clumps. The seeds should be I inch deep and about 
2 inches apart. The seedlings must always be protected from 
birds by a covering of netting or by ordinary pea-guards. 

When they are about 4 inches high these coverings can be 
removed, and sticks on which they are to climb put in on each 
side of the rows or round the clumps. When putting in the sticks 
care must be taken not to injure the roots. If the sweet-peas 
are picked as soon as they blossom, and never allowed to run to 
seed, they will flower all through the summer. They should be 
watered every day in dry weather, and they will be all the finer if 
slop-water is used. 

Sweet Sultan. — This flower likes a soil that has lime in it. 
Sow about the middle of April and do your best to keep it 



272 What Shall We Do Now? 

from the little green -fly, which is very fond of living in this 
flower. 

Biennials. — These are best sown in May. If the garden is 
full they may be sown in an ordinary wooden box filled with 
several inches of good earth. Transplant them to their perma- 
nent places later on. 

Remember that all plants will flower for a much longer time 
if the flowers are kept cut and any faded ones taken off. 
Saving seed. The best seed is saved from plants set apart for that purpose ; 
for good seed comes from the first and finest flowers and not from 
those left over at the end of a flowering season. These plants 
should be sown in a little patch by themselves, should be allowed 
to run to seed, and carefully tended until the seed-pods are ripe 
enough to be gathered. If, therefore, you have not a large garden, 
it is best to buy most of your seed each year, using a little of 
your own, from which, however, you must not always expect the 
finest flowers. If you have no wish to keep any of your flowers 
merely for seeding purposes but still want, while getting flowers 
from them, also to save a few seeds, the thing to do is to mark 
one or two of the finest blossoms with a tiny piece of wool or silk 
(it is better when it is the colour of the flower) and let it go to 
seed. Take special care of the plant, and cut off all other flowers 
as you wish to gather them. Watch the seed-pods when they 
are formed, and when they are ripe — that is, brown and dry — cut 
them off, break them open, and spread the seeds out. Look them 
over very carefully to see that there are no maggots amongst 
them, and if they are at all damp leave them in a warm place 
until they are dry. Then make them up in little packets, clearly 
labelled with their names, colours, and the date, and put them 
away in a dry place until next spring. In saving sunflower seeds 
choose your best sunflower, and when the petals have fallen tie it 
up in muslin, or else the birds will steal a march on you. In 
gathering sweet-pea pods one has to be rather clever, because when 
they are quite ripe they burst open and the seeds fly out suddenly, 



What Shall We Do Now? 273 

sometimes just as one is going to cut them. In one poppy pod 
there are hundreds of seeds, enough to stock a garden, and the 
same is the case with the pretty pods of love-in-a-mist. Nas- 
turtium seeds should be picked up when they fall on the ground, 
and spread out until quite brown and dry. Cornflowers, which 
have little seeds like shaving-brushes, generally sow themselves, 
and marigolds do too, but they are both easy to save. In choosing 
a place in which to keep seeds through the winter remember 
that damp is not the only danger. Mice enjoy them thoroughly. 



II. — Perennials 

Perennials are plants which, although they die down in winter, 
come up again and blossom every following spring or summer. 
They can be grown from seed, but, with a few exceptions, this is 
a long and troublesome part of gardening, and it is best to get 
them from friends or from a nurseryman. 

The best months for planting perennials are November, Feb- Planting 
ruary, and March. Dig a hole large enough to take the roots perennials. 
when well spread out, hold your plant in position, with the 
junction of stem and root just below the level of the earth, and 
fill in gently with fine soil, pressing it down firmly all round the 
plant, and if there is danger of frost protect the plants with straw, 
bracken, or a mulching of manure. Never water if there is any 
likelihood of frost. 

Here follow some general remarks concerning the treatment 
of perennials through the spring, summer, and autumn : — 

In the spring, slugs, which eat the tender new leaves of many Slugs. 
plants, can be kept away by sprinkling coal-ash around them. 

In hot weather, water perennials regularly and well, Watering. 
breaking up earth around them so that the water sinks in 
easily. 

All tall-growing perennials will need stakes to support them. Supports. 

T 



274 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Dividing. 



Perennials 
from seed. 



Seedlings. 



A list of 

perennials. 



Care must be taken not to injure the roots when putting these in. 
The stalks can be tied with bass. 

Perennials can be divided if they grow too large. With 
summer-flowering plants this should be done in October or 
November, and with spring-flowering plants in June. In dividing 
you simply dig up the plant and break off as much of it as you 
want, being careful not to injure the roots. As, however, there are 
many plants which, to be divided, must be cut, and as this is an 
operation which requires some skill and knowledge, it would per- 
haps be better to take advice. 

Snapdragon, wallflower, pansies, and hollyhocks are very 
easily grown from seed. They can be sown in June (wallflowers 
are best sown in April) in boxes, and thinned out and transplanted 
to permanent places as soon as they are large enough. They will 
blossom the following year. 

Seedlings of most perennials can be bought for a few pence a 
dozen. They should be planted as quickly as possible and watered 
well, and they will flower the following year. 

The following list of hardy perennials is not in any way a 
complete one ; but it is large enough to give a choice of plants that 
will produce flowers continually from May until December : 



Name. 


Description. 


Height. 


Flowering Season. 


Alyssum 


A small bright yellow flower 


9 in. 


April 


Anemone, Japanese 


Delicate pink or white single flowers, 
hardy and quick growers 


2 ft. 


Aug. to Oct. 


Aubretia 


A small purple flower with evergreen 
leaves, useful for rockeries 


6 in. 


March to May 


Carnation 


Very fragrant flowers, white, pink, red, 
yellow, and striped 


i ft. 


June to Aug. 


Chrysanthemum 


Very beautiful flowers of different 
colours, generally double 


2 to 3 ft. 


Oct. to Nov. 


Columbine 


Graceful flowers on slender stems, 
pink, white, blue, and yellow 


lift. 


June 



What Shall We Do Now? 



275 



Name. 



Creeping Jenny 
Double Daisy 
Delphiniums . 

Doronicum 
Flag- 



Forget-me-not 
Gaillardia 

Hollyhocks . 



Honesty 

London Pride 
Lupin . 

Michaelmas Daisies 

Paeony . 

Pansy . 
Pink . 

Polyanthus . 

Poppy, Oriental 

Primroses 
Pyrethrum 

Snapdragons . 
Sunflower 
Wallflowers . 



Description. 



A little yellow flower with glossy leaves 
Compact double daisies, red and white 
Tall spikes of beautiful light or dark 

blue flowers 
Yellow daisy-like flowers . 
Handsome purple, mauve, and white 
flowers on tall stems with smooth 
long leaves 
Small blue and blue and pink flowers 
Handsome yellow and yellow and red 

daisy-shaped flowers 
Very tall stems, from which rose-like 
flowers, double and single, pink, 
white, red, and yellow, grow 
Small purple flowers, succeeded by 
beautiful silvery seed-pods, for which 
the plant is valued 
A feathery pink flower 
Spikes of blue, white, or blue and 

white flowers 
Bushy plants of purple, lavender, or 

white daisy-like flowers 
Great rose-like flowers, blush-pink and 
crimson, forming large bushy plants 
Purple, yellow, variegated 
Small double and single fragrant 

flowers, pink, white, and red 
Bunches of primrose-like flowers of 

different colours 
Great scarlet poppies with black 

stamens 
Yellow and white 

Beautiful tall pink, white, and red 
daisy-like flowers, single and double 
Spike of yellow, white, and red flowers 
Large yellow daisy-shaped flowers 
Very sweetly-scented yellow, red, or 
red-brown flowers 



Height. 



Creeping 

6 in. 

2 to 6 ft. 

2 ft. 

1 to 2 ft. 



9 in. 

1 J ft. 

5 ft. 

2 ft. 

1 ft. 

3 to 6 ft. 

1 to 3 ft. 

2 ft. 

9 in. 

1 ft. 

9 in. 

3 ft. 

6 in. 

2 ft. 

1 to 2 ft. 

3 to 6 ft. 
1 to 2 ft. 



Flowering Seasoiv 



May to Sept. 
April to July 
June to Aug. 

Mar. and Apr. 
May and June 



Jan. to June 
June to Nov. 

August 



May 

May 

June to Sept. 

Aug. to Oct. 

May 

May to Sept. 
June 

May 

May to July 

Feb. to May 
May and June 

July to Oct. 
July to Oct. 
March to June 



276 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Cuttings. A great many plants can be grown from cuttings, which are 

little green shoots about 4 inches long, cut off just below a joint. 
The leaves immediately above the joint should be cut off with a 
sharp knife, and the cutting put into good sandy earth in a corner 
where it is not too sunny. It should be watered daily if the 
weather is dry, and it will root in about a month. Geraniums, 
fuchsias, pinks, carnations, old-man, and. lavender, seldom fail to 
root. 
Bedding- There are certain tender plants, such as geraniums, fuchsias, 

plants. heliotrope, and calceolarias, which will not stand being left out 

during the winter. These have, therefore (unless they can be 
wintered in a greenhouse), to be bought afresh each summer. They 
are best planted out in May or June, and must be well watered. 
Herbs. If in your garden there is room, it is very important to give a 

little space to herbs, on account of their sweetness. Lemon thyme 
is one of the sweetest, and if you can get a tiny piece of this it 
will increase very quickly. Rosemary, which you must protect a 
little in winter, and lavender, are almost necessary. These grow 
easily from cuttings (see above). Borage, which has a nice blue 
flower, can be grown from seed. 

There are two other green plants so sweet that they should 
be grown if possible — Lemon Verbena, which, except in warm 
countries, must be well protected during winter, and should be 
grown against a warm wall, and Scented Geranium, which will 
have to be brought indoors during the winter. 
Wild-flowers If you live in the country there are several wild plants which 
transplanted, grow well in gardens, such as ferns, primroses, foxgloves, and 
Creeping Jenny. In taking them up great care is needed to get 
the whole root. Plant them quickly, and water well. Only those 
that are really needed should be dug up, for to take wild-flowers 
from their proper place is a little like stealing from a garden that 
is open to every one. 



What Shall We Do Now? 277 

III. — Bulbs 

A garden that is planted only with bulbs, or with bulbs and a General 
few ferns, can be kept beautiful all the year round. Many of our remar & s - 
loveliest flowers come from bulbs, and they are easy to grow and 
interesting to watch from the moment that the first leaf-tips push 
through the earth until they die down. The position of all bulbs 
should be very carefully marked on the beds and in your garden- 
plan, so that you will not cut or injure them when digging your 
garden over. 

The first bulb to come — through the snow sometimes — is the 
winter aconite, a bright yellow buttercup-like flower, surrounded 
by a ruff of green leaves. This little plant will grow anywhere : 
in the deepest shade and in poor soil. After it come the snow- 
drops, single and double, crocuses — yellow, purple, lilac, and striped 
— and then the tiny bright blue squills ; and a little later the yellow 
daffodil and white narcissus, hyacinths, and tulips of every kind. 
Then white, red, and purple anemones, ranunculi, and wax-like 
Stars of Bethlehem. In June there are wonderful irises and tall 
spikes of summer-flowering gladiolus — red and white — and later 
still the tall garden lilies. There are many of these lilies, and all 
of them are exceedingly beautiful. Two kinds should be in all 
gardens — the white Madonna lily, and the orange tiger lily. All 
the bulbs that have been mentioned cost very little and can be 
grown, very simply. And all bulbs that have been mentioned can 
remain untouched for many years unless they exhaust the soil 
around them (when, instead of increasing as they should each 
year, the plants become poorer and smaller). 

Never move a bulb when it is in active growth : after the 
leaves have died down is the right time. 

Leaf-mould mixed with your garden soil will help to give you 
fine flowers. 

If the leaves of the bulbs are attacked by slugs, as they often 
are, sprinkle a little wood-ash all around them. 



278 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Pla?iii7ig 
bulbs. 



Cuttij-ig 
leaves. 



For planting bulbs choose a day when the earth is dry, and 
make your holes with a trowel. If you want to make a clump of 
bulb-plants, take away the earth to the right depth from the whole 
area you wish to fill, place your bulbs in position, points upwards, 
and cover over, pressing the earth firmly down. 

In planting a bulb in a hole made for it by a trowel or dibber, 
be very careful to see that it is resting on earth, and is not "hung," 
that is to say, kept from touching the earth underneath because 
of the narrowness of the hole. 

All bulbs may be protected during the winter by laying heather, 
bracken, or straw over them. This must be neatly pegged down, 
and removed in March. 

Never cut all the leaves of plants growing from bulbs, but 
allow those that are unpicked to die down naturally. If they 
look very untidy, as the leaves of the Star of Bethlehem always 
do, tie them up tightly. Seeds of annuals can always be sown 
among bulbs, and they will hide dying leaves and fill up the places 
that are left vacant. 

A beautiful little spring border can be made by planting in a 
row scillas, snowdrops, and winter aconites. In March sow 
candytuft, alyssum, gilia, nasturtiums, to take their place, or 
plant forget-me-nots, thrift, and pansies. 

A list of bulbs follows, with special directions as to the depth 
at which each is to be planted, together with other information. 
It should be borne in mind that the depth given is the depth 
between the surface of the ground and the top (or shoulder) of 
the bulb. (If you have the least doubt as to which is the top of 
the bulb, it would be wise to ask advice.) 

Anemones {single). — Plant anemones from October to March, 
3 inches deep and 4 inches apart, where they will have 
shade part of the day. Water well in dry weather, especially 
when in flower. These bulbs are fourpence a dozen mixed. 

Crocuses should be planted in September, 2 inches deep 
Fifteenpence a- hundred. 



What Shall We Do Now? 279 

Daffodils and Narcissus must be planted in September, 2 
to 3 inches deep and 3 inches apart. They are very beautiful 
if planted in grass, where they often thrive even better than in 
a bed. In a mixture of daffodils you will get both early and late 
flowering ones, blossoming from March to May. Three shillings 
a hundred. 

Gladiolus Colvillei should be planted in October in a sunny 
sheltered place, 3 inches deep and 3 apart. They must be 
protected in winter. Sixpence a dozen (red and white). 

Hyacinths are planted in October, 6 inches deep and 6 
inches apart. Eighteenpence a dozen. 

Irises {Spanish) should be planted in September or October, 
3 inches deep and 4 inches apart. They need a sunny 
position protected from winds. Half a crown a hundred. 

Lilies. — Madonna and Tiger Lilies are best planted in Septem- 
ber about 6 inches deep, where they will have shade part of 
the day. Threepence or fourpence each. 

Ranunculi are planted from October to March ; but February 
is the best time. Plant 2 inches deep and 3 inches apart, 
claws downwards, and sprinkle a little sand above and below the 
bulb (or tuber, as properly it is called). Water well in dry 
weather, especially while the plants are flowering. Fourpence 
a dozen. 

Squills are bright blue dwarf flowers. They should be 
planted in September or October, 1 inch deep and 3 inches apart. 
They look very pretty if planted with snowdrops. Sixpence 
a dozen. 

Snowdrops should be planted close together and 2 inches 
deep in October. Sixpence a dozen. 

Star of Bethlehem will blossom in very shady places and 
increase most rapidly. Plant in September 1 inch deep and 
2 apart. 

Tulips must be planted in October, 3 inches deep and 4 
apart, in a sunny position. There are single and double tulips 



280 What Shall We Do Now? 

and early (April) and late (May) flowering. From fourpence 
a dozen. 

Winter Aconite. — Plant in September or October 2 inches 
deep and 3 inches apart. They will grow in dense shade and in 
poor soil. Two shillings a hundred. 

Dahlias which, strictly speaking, are not bulbs, being grown 
from tubers, should be planted in May. In good soil they grow 
into very large bushy plants and must be given plenty of room. 
A strong stake should be driven in (well away from the roots) to 
support the plant, which can be carefully tied to it with bass. 
When frost has touched and spoilt the plants in November 
they must be dug up. The root will then have grown much larger 
and will consist of a number of knobby tubers. This has to be 
dried and put away where frost cannot get it, and in the spring 
the various tubers are separated and planted again. 



IV. — Roses 

Pla?iting. November is the best month for planting a new rose-tree, 

although it can be done until April. The plant should be kept 
indoors and well covered — for a cold wind would hurt its roots — 
until you have made the hole to put it in. This hole must be 
big enough for the root to stand in comfortably and for all the 
finer parts to be well spread out. If any part of the root is torn, 
cut it off with a sharp knife. It is best for two people to do the 
planting, one to hold the bush steadily in position and the other 
gently to put the earth back over the roots. When the hole is 
half filled press it down firmly over the roots with your foot. 
Then if the ground is dry give your plant half a can of water, 
wait until the water has sunk down and then fill up the hole with 
more earth. A little bracken or straw may be pegged down 
around the plant to protect its roots during the winter. Some 



What Shall We Do Now? 281 

manure, if you may have it, should replace the straw in February. 
Then you can let your rose alone until March — unless the 
weather becomes very dry, when you should water it (with luke- 
warm water) in the morning. In March fork in the manure — very 
gently so as not to disturb the roots. Then it is most important 
to get some one to prune the tree for you, because that is an 
operation which requires more knowledge and experience than 
you are likely to have. 

In May and June watch all the leaves for maggots, which, if Maggots. 
not checked, quickly eat the leaves and sometimes the flowers. 
Go over the tree once a day, fingering it as little as possible. 
Directly you see a leaf curled you may know that a maggot 
is there. 

If you water the tree, water it regularly. And in very hot Watering 
weather when the ground is hard and baked, always remember to roses - 
break it up a little with a fork so that the water does not run off. 
If poured slowly, the water will sink in. If you can get slop water 
to water with, it will be of great benefit to your roses. 

Syringe or spray your rose-tree every afternoon, unless it has 
been raining. 

Probably in June a little green-fly will come and cover the Blight. 
buds. They must be syringed away again at once. The fluid is 
made by mixing I oz. of soft soap with I gallon of water, and if 
possible, adding to this a little water in which a good ounce of 
quassia chips has been boiled for half an hour. The flies can 
also be destroyed by dusting them, when the plant is wet, with 
snuff or powdered tobacco. 

If you are going to buy a rose, there is none better than the The choice of 
Gloire de Dijon, for it is the first and the last to bloom, and is a rose. 
very strong and beautiful and sweet-smelling. The following 
roses are hardy and vigorous and will grow under almost any 
conditions and blossom for a long period : — General Jacqueminot, 
deep velvety red ; UlricJi Brunner, large, rich crimson ; Baroness 
Rothschild, silvery pink, but scentless ; William Allan Richardson, 



282 What Shall We Do Now? 

cream deepening to orange, a good climber. Besides these, for 
country -growing there are the common white and pink moss 
roses, and the very beautiful pink and crimson China or monthly 
roses, as well as many others, all beautiful and desirable, which 
are named and described in every good catalogue. 



V. — Ferneries and Rockeries 

Ferns. If your garden is a very shady one, it is a good thing to 

make it into a fernery, or rockery, or both. If you decide to 
have a fernery, dig over as deeply as possible that part of the 
garden which you are going to use for it. It is much more 
interesting to get your own ferns than to buy them. In digging 
them up the greatest care must be taken not to break off any of 
the delicate fibrous parts of the root. Ferns should be watered 
every evening with a fine rose. Leave the old fronds on the 
plants to protect them through the winter, cutting them off when 
the new fronds push up in spring. Fallen leaves also make a 
warm protection, and if gently dug in in spring they enrich the 
soil. Stones laid between the ferns will help to keep the earth 
moist. 

Other shady Solomon's Seal (a beautiful plant with arching stems from 

plants. which the leaves grow upwards and delicate white flowers hang), 

bulbs that like shade, white, yellow, and red foxgloves (grown 
from seed), and lilies of the valley, all grow well among ferns. 
Lilies of the valley should be planted early in autumn, each 
plant quite three inches from the next, as they increase quickly. 
Remember that a few branches of evergreen laid over the lily plants 
will protect them from frost, and they will be much more luxuriant 
if covered with manure through the winter. They must be well 
watered while the leaves and flowers are growing. 

Rockeries. A rockery should be like a little piece of wild country in 

miniature. A good rockery is made by digging out earth in one 



What Shall We Do Now? 283 

place and heaping it up in others, so as to form one or two 
little hills with a valley between ; lining the valley with fiat stones, 
leaving spaces between each ; and fixing other stones firmly into 
the hills — some flat and some standing on end. The stones 
should be natural ones, for clinkers are too ugly to put with 
flowers. 

Between the stones put little rock plants such as stonecrops, Rock 
saxifrages, rock pinks, white periwinkle, aubretia, yellow z\yi,SMm..fl ' wers - 
Thyme, violets, small ferns, and bulbs will also grow in a rock 
garden. A few seeds of dwarf wallflower, dropped among the 
stones in April, will flower early the next spring. If you live in 
the country you can probably get from the woods Creeping Jenny, 
small ferns, a few primroses, and mossy stones. 

" Shades " are subterranean gardens : holes in the ground, Shades. 
some 1 8 inches deep and about a foot square (or larger), the sides 
of which are covered with moss and little ferns. At the bottom 
you can sink a pot or a tin, which must always be kept filled 
with water. It is more interesting if a toad or a frog lives there. 
Over the hole stands a shade made of glass and wood, which, 
together with the water, keeps it cool and moist. 



VI. — Kitchen Gardens 

If you want to grow other things besides flowers, lettuces, 
radishes, and mustard and cress are interesting to raise. 
Strawberries, too, are easy to cultivate, but they need some 
patience, as the first year's growth brings very few berries. In 
sowing the seeds of lettuce, radish, and mustard and cress, follow 
directions given for sowing flower seeds on pp. 266-268. If you 
want to grow even the few things mentioned, which need only 
very simple culture, the soil of the garden must be good. 

Sow a few seeds of cos or cabbage-lettuce very thinly in a Lettuce. 
line once every three weeks from March to July. When the 



284 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Radishes. 



Mustard 
and cress. 



Straw- 
berries. 



seedlings, which should be protected from birds by netting, are 
3 inches high, thin them out, leaving one foot between each plant. 
The seedlings that are pulled up can be transplanted or eaten. 
Transplanted lettuces should be shaded during hot weather and 
given plenty of water. During dry and hot weather you may 
water lettuces every day. 

Sow a few radish seeds thinly once every three weeks, and 
cover very lightly with earth. These seedlings also must be 
protected by netting from birds, and must have plenty of water, 
or the radishes will become stringy and poor. In summer sow 
in a shady place. 

Mustard and cress seed can be sown at any time and is 
almost sure to be successful. In very hot weather sow in the 
shade, or protect from the sun in the middle of the day. The 
cress should always be sown three days before the mustard. It 
is a favourite device to sow one's name in mustard and cress. 
For other ways of treating it, see p. 288. 

Plant strawberries carefully in August or September. Dig a 
hole for each plant and spread the roots well out. Hold the 
plant while filling in the earth, so that that part of it where root 
and stem join comes just below the soil. Each plant should be 
eighteen inches from its neighbour. Cut off all runners — that 
is, the long weedy stems which the plants throw out in spring, and 
water well if the weather is dry. Protect the strawberries from 
birds, and watch very carefully for slugs, which are greedy 
strawberry - eaters. When the fruit begins to form, lay some 
straw on the earth under and between the plants. This will 
keep the berries clean. 



VII. — Town Gardens 

So far, we have been speaking of gardens in the country, or, 
at any rate, not among houses. There are many more difficulties 
to contend with in town gardening ; there is more uncertainty, 



What Shall We Do Now? 



285 



and often less reward for the greatest care, than in country 
gardening ; but the flowers that do grow seem so sweet between 
dull walls and under smoky chimneys, that one can forget how 
much more luxuriant they could be in other circumstances. 

The following list of annuals, perennials; and bulbs which grow Flowers for 
well in the heart of towns, though it is not complete, contains towns 
enough plants to fill a garden : — 



Alyssum. 

Candytuft. 

Collinsia. 

Coreopsis. 

Mignonette. 

Nasturtiums. 

Poppies. 

Sunflowers. 



Perennials. 

Jap. Anemones. 

Campanulas. 

Delphiniums. 

Flags. 

Gaillardias. 

Pinks. 

Sunflowers. 

Wallflowers. 



Bulbs. 

Crocuses. 
Daffodils. 
Hyacinths. 
Madonna Lilies. 
Squills. 

Spanish Irises. 
Tulips. 
Winter Aconite. 



In addition to the plants mentioned above, hardy ferns grow 
well, and so do lilies of the valley, and stonecrops and saxifrages 
(particularly London Pride). Creeping Jenny will also thrive, 
and the canary creeper grows as well in town as in the country. 

In summer, geraniums, fuchsias, heliotrope — which must be 
well watered — pansies, lemon verbena, and scented geraniums, can 
be planted out. 

Roses do not do very well in towns ; but the hardy ones 
mentioned on p. 281 will grow quite enough flowers to make 
the possession of them a great delight. 

If you live in London, there is no better place than Covent Covent 
Garden to buy your plants. And there you can get, for three- Garden. 
pence or fourpence a dozen, strong seedlings of different kinds. 
May is the best time to buy these. They will need plenty of 
water until they are well settled in their new soil. 



286 



What Shall We Do Now? 



VIII. — Indoor Gardening and Window Boxes 

Precautions. A window full of flowers and green plants makes all the 

difference to a room. There are always certain difficulties about 
growing plants in a room ; but these may, however, be partly 
overcome. One is the great change of temperature between day 
and night in winter ; another is the very evil effect of gas on 
plants ; and a third is the presence of dust. The difference of 
temperature is met to a great extent by taking the flowers away 
from the window at night and putting them in the middle of 
the room. This is specially necessary when there is any danger 
of frost. If gas is burnt in the room where plants are all day, 
it is wise at evening to take the trouble to move them into 
another room, for nothing injures them more. As to dust, ferns 
and plants which have smooth leaves should be gently sponged 
with warm water once a week, or else the pores will be so choked 
that the plants will not be able to breathe. Those plants which 
cannot be sponged, such as fine-leafed ferns, geraniums, etc., 
should be gently sprayed occasionally, or, in warm weather, placed 
out-of-doors during a soft shower. When a room is being turned 
out, the plants should either be taken away or covered with 
soft paper. 

The window chosen for your plants should be a sunny one 
and as draughtless as may be. It should not be opened unless 
the day is very mild. One thing to remember is that wherever 
the plants are they should have as much sun, as equal a tempera- 
ture, and as little draught as possible. 

Watering. No exact rule can be given for watering ; but it should be 

noted that water ought never to be allowed to stand in the 
saucers. In winter, one good watering a week with lukewarm 
water, applied in the morning, will be sufficient. In spring, when 
the plant is more active, more water will be needed, and in 
summer constant attention must be given to watering. Remember, 
that not only the surface but the whole soil needs moistening. 



What Shall We Do Now? 287 

In spring time, if the plants seem to have outgrown their Flower-pots. 
pots, or if they are not thriving well, re-pot them in larger pots 
with the best earth you can get. Water well after re-potting. 

Turn the plants round every day, as the sun always draws 
them towards it. 

A list follows of suitable plants to be grown indoors. Green Indoor 
plants are mentioned first. plants. 

Aspidistra. — Of all green plants the aspidistra is the best to 
grow indoors. (This plant indeed is so hardy that it will stand 
not only draught but even a certain amount of gas.) Its smooth, 
beautiful leaves should be carefully sponged every week. 

India-rubber Plant. — The india-rubber plant is a very hand- 
some, smooth, bright-leaved plant. It should not be given too 
much water. 

Ferns. — Several hardy ferns grow well in a window. The 
maidenhair is very beautiful while it lasts, but it is a poor thing 
the second year unless it can be put into a greenhouse and 
cared for. 

Ivy. — Small-leaved variegated ivy will grow under almost 
any conditions. Its leaves should be kept clean. If grown 
up a small trellis it is very pretty. 

Japanese Fern Balls. — In February and March one can buy 
Japanese fern balls. Carter's, in High Holborn, is the best place. 
The balls have to be soaked for two or three hours in water (rain- 
water if possible) and then drained and hung up in a window 
where there is not too much sun. They should be watered three 
times a week. Gradually the delicate ferns will grow and unfold 
until the whole ball is a mass of green. In November they should 
be put away in a cool dark place until the following February, 
when they can be started again. 

Miniature Trees. — Fine little trees can be grown from 
•chestnuts, beechnuts, acorns, and hazel-nuts. Collect the nuts as 
they fall and leave them in a dark place, until about two weeks 
before Christmas, when you lay them in bowls full of wet moss 



288 What Shall We Do Now? 

or in pots rilled with earth, and put them in a warm dark place 
near hot pipes, or in a warm cupboard. This warmth will start 
the root growth. When the root is two inches long, fill a bowl 
with moss or pebbles, lay the nuts on the top so that they are 
only half covered, with the roots downwards, and keep in a room 
where they will have plenty of light. Water frequently but do 
not let much water stand in the bowl. 

Wheat or Canary Seed. — Wheat or canary seed can be sown 
in any kind of dish, the bottom of which is covered with wet 
moss. Sow the seed thickly and then keep the dish in a dark 
cupboard until the seedlings are about two inches high. Then 
place it in a sunny window. The seed, which will take about 
three weeks to grow, makes a beautiful patch of clear light green 
in a room. Keep the moss wet. 

Mustard and Cress can be sown in pots or on pieces of wet 
flannel. 

Campanulas. — Blue and white campanulas are grown in 
almost every cottage window, and they are very beautiful and 
graceful. They can be grown in pots, but are prettiest in baskets 
from which to hang down. 

Fuchsias and Geraniums. — Both fuchsias and geraniums are 
gay and delightful plants for a room. Good kinds should be 
bought in* early summer and well watered. In winter the plants 
should be kept in a cool dark place, until with the coming of 
spring they begin to grow again. Both can very easily be in- 
creased by cuttings. To do this take off a shoot of about four 
inches long, cutting it off just below a joint. Then pull off the 
leaves just above the joint and put it into some earth in a sunny 
corner and water it well. In about a month roots will have formed 
and it can then be potted. 

Bidbs. — Bulbs, such as tulips, iris, daffodils, crocuses, scillas, 
and snowdrops, can be grown in pots or deep earthenware saucers 
that have been filled with cocoanut fibre. This can be bought at 
any florist's. A little shell, shingle, or sand, can be mixed with 



What Shall We Do Now? 289 

the fibre, and a piece of charcoal should be put at the bottom of 
the pot to keep it sweet. The bulbs need only to be covered 
with a thin layer of damp fibre. Water regularly, as they must 
never get dry. If your pot has no drainage hole it is a good thing 
a little while after watering to turn it gently on one side so that 
any water which, has not been soaked up by the fibre can run 
away. 

Bulbs can also be grown indoors in earth. Plant them in 
October just below the soil, and keep them in a cool dark place until 
they have made a little growth. Then bring to a sunny window. 
Horsfieldii narcissus, polyanthus -flowered narcissus, and yellow 
jonquils, grow well, and so do tulips, hyacinths, and crocuses. In 
a sunny window the Scarborough lily ( Vallota purpurea) can be 
grown. It is a very gorgeous and imposing red flower which 
blossoms in August and September. It should be planted in 
autumn and plenty of room allowed for its roots. 

The Good-Luck Lily, which is a strong and beautiful polyanthus 
narcissus, can be grown in bowls filled with pebbles and water. 
Fill the bowl almost to the top with clean pebbles (which can be 
brought from the sea-shore), and among them plant the bulbs and 
fill up with water which must be added to as it evaporates. 
Among the pebbles put two or three pieces of charcoal. 

Hyacinths and daffodils can also be grown in glasses filled Bulbs in 
with water, either glasses sold for the purpose, or any kind into S^ asses - 
the necks of which the bulbs will fit. The bulb should be placed 
in the glass in October, and should not quite touch the water. 
Use good fresh water and put a little piece of charcoal in the 
glass. Change the water once a week. In warm sunny weather 
the hyacinths can be put out of doors for a little while every day. 

One cannot grow very many things in a window box, but it Window 
is most interesting to grow a few. In a town it is often all the b° xes - 
garden that many people possess. 

The length of a window-box will depend on the size of the 
window. Its depth should be ten inches at least. At the bottom 

u 



window- 
boxes, 



290 What Shall We Do Now? 

of the box some cinders or other rough material should be put, and 
then it should be filled up with the best earth you can get. And 
because of the difference it makes to the growth of your flowers 
it is worth while to take a great deal of trouble in getting good, 
rich mould. The earth may be kept level, or heaped up at one 
or both ends, and a few stones added to make a tiny rockery, in 
which you can grow small saxifrages and other rock plants. 

Nasturtiums and canary creeper can climb up a little trellis 
made of sticks at each end of the box, or they can cling to 
strings fixed to the box and nailed high up at the side of the 
window. Creeping Jenny or ivy-leaved geranium will fall over 
the front of the box and make it look very gay. Bulbs, such as 
winter aconite, squills, snowdrops, a few daffodils, tulips and irises, 
will grow well in boxes. These should be planted rather deep. 
Then primroses and forget-me-nots can be planted, and in May a 
border of lobelia, one or two geraniums, pansies, fuchsias, a plant 
of lemon verbena, and some musk. Mignonette, Virginia stock, 
collinsia, should be sown in spring in little patches or lines. 

Keep the leaves of all the plants as clean as possible by 
gentle watering with a rose. Never let the earth get dry from 
neglect, or sodden from too much watering ; yet water well, for 
driblets only affect the surface, and it is the roots far down in the 
box that need moisture.' 



IX. — Cutting Flowers and Packing them 

Flowers for It is best, if possible, to pick flowers the day before you want 

post. to send them off. Pick them in the afternoon, sort them and 

bunch them up, and then stand them in water right up to their 
heads, and keep them there over night. A basin is the best thing 
to put the flowers in, unless the stalks are very long, and a jam- 
pot or two in the water will help to keep them from tumbling 
over and drifting about. Be very careful that the blooms do not 



What Shall We Do Now? 291 

touch the water. Keep the flowers in water until you are ready 
to pack them. Tin boxes are best to send flowers away in ; but 
generally one has to use cardboard ones. Choose the strongest 
you can find and line it with two sheets of paper, one across and 
one long ways, and each long enough to fold over when it is full. 
Then line again with some big cool leaves or moss. Dry the 
flowers and pack them as tightly as possible, taking great care 
not to crush the petals. Cover them with a few more leaves and 
fold the paper over. Then wrap up the box, remembering to 
write the address on a label tied at one end of the box, so that 
the postmark will not be stamped on the box itself and perhaps 
break it. 

When you are picking flowers to send away, never pick old Picking 
ones. Buds are best generally, especially in the case of poppies -^ flowers. 
but they should be buds just on the point of opening. Always 
use scissors to cut flowers with. A very slight tug at a little 
plant in dry weather pulls its roots out of the ground. Cut the 
flowers with long stems and with some of their green leaves, and 
at the top of the box that you are sending away it is pleasant 
always to put something which smells very sweetly — lemon, ver- 
bena, old man, or mignonette — for that first sweet scent is one of 
the very best things about receiving a present of this kind. 

When flowers are sent to you, each stem should be cut with a The recep- 
slanting cut before you put it in water. Flowers with very thick tl0n °f 
or milky stems should be slit up about half an inch, and woody 
stems are best peeled for an inch or two. Put the flowers deep 
into water that has had the chill taken off it. Always put flowers 
in water as quickly as possible after they are picked. Change 
the water every day, and recut the stems if they look at all brown 
or dry. 



PETS 



PETS ' 

In no case do the following hints as to the care and character of 
pets go so far as they might. But they lay down broadly the 
most useful rules. In cases where a dog or bird is really ill, and 
ordinary remedies and treatment do not help, the advice of some 
one who knows should be asked. It is because all children are 
in touch with some one who knows, that this chapter is not longer. 
The aim of the writer of most of the notes which follow — Miss 
M. A. Reid — has been to describe those creatures which are most 
commonly kept as pets, with a few suggestions as to their care in 
ordinary health. 

Dogs 

All dogs need plenty of exercise; indeed it is scarcely pos- Dogs : their 
sible to give them too much when once they are over six months care and 
of age. After twelve months they can follow a horse, but a J 00 ®- 
bicycle as a rule is too fast for a dog, and the excessive exertion 
is likely to make them ill. Plenty of fresh air and freedom are 
necessary, and your dog should never be chained except at night, 
when he should have a snug bed away from any draught. The 
house is the best place for a dog to sleep, but should he live in a 
kennel it must be a roomy one, filled two or three times a week 
with clean straw and raised from the ground about six inches so 
that it will keep dry. Kennels with runs in front are the best, as 
then the dog need never be chained. In these there should be a 



296 



What Shall We Do Now? 



wooden bench for him to lie on, sheltered by a sloping roof. 
An earthenware trough of clean water he must always have, and 
most dogs will do best if they are fed twice a day : a light break- 
fast of biscuit or brown bread and a good dinner of scraps or dog- 
biscuit soaked in gravy with vegetables and plenty of rice. A 
rounded leather collar is best for dogs with long hair, as it does 
not show so much or spoil the coat, but for smooth-coated dogs a 
flat plain collar is best. 

Dogs should not be washed very often, nor will this be necessary 
if they are well brushed every day. A stable dandy-brush is best 
for short-coated dogs, and a hard hair-brush, or one of those with 
metal bristles, which can be bought in most saddlers' shops, for 
long-coated ones. 

Common yellow soap and soft thick towels should be used 
when your dog really needs a bath. Have a pailful of warm 
water, a jug to bale it up with, a piece of mild yellow soap, and a 
pail of cold water. Pour a little warm water over the dog, 
beginning with his back, shoulders, and sides, and finish with his 
head, rubbing the soap into a lather all over him at the same time. 
Be careful not to let any water into his ears, or soap into his eyes. 
Next rinse the soap well out of his coat with jugfuls of the warm 
water, beginning with the head. Then pour the cold water all 
over him and let him shake himself well. Rub him dry with 
towels and give him a run on grass. Big dogs must be washed 
in a yard, but you can put a little one in the tub indoors. All 
dogs are better for something to eat after a bath. To swimmers 
a plunge in a pond or river is good exercise and a tonic ; but 
dogs should not be thrown in. 

Puppies at first need feeding five times a day. At four months 
old four meals will do. At twelve months they settle down 
into grown-up dogs, and the two meals are sufficient. Do not 
feed them later than six o'clock, and always give them a walk 
after their last meal. A few dry dog-biscuits when they go to 
bed will do no harm, and a large mutton or beef bone now and 



What Shall We Do Now? 297 

then will do them good, but small bones are very dangerous, as 
they splinter and may kill or seriously injure the dog. 

Young dogs are almost sure to have distemper, and if a puppy Distemper. 
about six or eight months old is depressed and quiet, and his eyes 
look inflamed, you should put him away by himself at once, sew 
him up in thick warm flannel, bathe his eyes with cold tea, and 
attend very carefully to his diet. It will be difficult to make him 
eat, but you must coax him and even pour strong beef-tea or milk 
down his throat, for if he does not eat he will have no strength 
to fight the disease. Tripe is the best food for him if he will 
take it, but try everything to tempt him, and give him as much 
as he will take. When you take your patient for a walk (and he 
will need exercise) do not take him where he may meet other 
dogs, for distemper is very infectious. Put an extra coat over 
him, wrapping it well round his throat and chest. Distemper is a 
fever, and the risk of chill is very great ; it means inflammation 
of some sort from which the dog being weak is not likely to 
recover. It is always best to call in a veterinary surgeon when a 
dog shows symptoms of distemper. 

If your dog is a terrier there is no end to the tricks you can Tricks for 
teach him. Always begin by teaching him to " trust," for it is dogs. 
the foundation of his training, and he will learn it before he is 
two months old. Do not keep him " on trust " for more than a 
second or two at first, but gradually make the time longer, until 
he will let you leave the room and not touch the biscuit until you 
return. Then you can teach him to die, and waltz, sing, ask, box, 
and beg. Treat him always with patience and firmness ; be quick 
to reward but never give in to him. You will, of course, bear in 
mind the character of the dog in teaching him tricks. Dogs of 
dignified nature, such as St. Bernards, mastiffs, Great Danes, and 
deer-hounds, for example, you would not labour to transform into 
performers. The best dogs of all for teaching elaborately are poodles. 

Do not overdo your mastership. Remember that a dog needs What is due 
much liberty and independence to develop his individuality, and an io do S s - 



298 What Shall We Do Now? 

enterprising puppy learns more by observation and experience 
in a week than a pampered lap-dog does in his whole life ; 
he learns self-reliance, but he will always run to his master or 
mistress in any real difficulty, and you who are his master or 
mistress must be wary not to misunderstand or disregard him, 
for he needs sympathy and love, and if he does not get them he 
either becomes cowed and stupid or a ne'er-do-weel. 
Buying dogs. If you wish to buy a dog, the best way is to get the 
catalogue of some big dog show, such as the one held at the 
Crystal Palace, and find the address of a well-known breeder of 
the kind of dog you wish to have. If you write to him and tell 
him exactly what you want he will probably send you a suitable 
puppy at a fair price. If you think of buying through an 
advertisement, have the dog on approval first. Good dogs have 
been bought at the Battersea Dog Home, but there is always the 
danger that one coming from a home may turn out a rover. 
Another objection to buying a dog at all casually is that you 
will not know either his temper, which is generally inherited, 
or his age. In all cases it is best to buy puppies and train them 
yourself. This means a good deal of trouble at first, and takes 
time and patience, but the younger the puppy the easier he is to 
train. The best age is about five weeks old. With constant 
attention day and night for a few weeks you will have a perfectly 
trained dog who will be a perfect companion to you for years. 

Brief descriptions of some of the best known dogs are here 
given, beginning with terriers : — 
The Airedale The Airedale terrier, or Yorkshire Tyke, is one of the gamest 
terrier. anc j mos t useful of dogs. He is very trustworthy, and gentle 

too, although he will kill any doggish " game," from a rat to an 
otter. Like all terriers he is too fond of fighting his own kind, 
but he is a good guard and companion, and a very safe play- 
mate. His coat should be broken and wiry and free from curl, 
while his colour is grizzle and tan. 



What Shall We Do Now? 299 

The bull-terrier is very discriminating in his attachments and The bull- 
does not easily lose his temper, or, as a rule, fight, unless he is terrier. 
unduly excited. He is such a nervous dog that if he is roughly 
treated he is apt to become a coward, but there is no truer, 
more faithful friend than a properly trained terrier of this breed. 

The fox-terrier is often a restless fidgety dog in a house ; The fox- 
indeed, to keep him much in the house seems to affect his terrier. 
intelligence. He fights readily, but a strong master can alter 
that. In sharpness and brightness and hardiness he is not to be 
beaten, and no dog is more inquisitive and full of spirits. 
Perhaps of little dogs he is the best. 

One of the most interesting of the terriers as a household pet Dandie 
is that who takes his name from Scott's border farmer (in Guy Dinmont. 
Mannering) Dandie Dinmont. Though often a clever little dog, 
he can be very stupid, too, and he is suspicious of strangers. 

The greatest fault of the Irish terrier is his fondness for The Irish 
barking unnecessarily ; but he is particularly intelligent, active, terrier. 
and vigorous, and will learn any trick your ingenuity can 
devise for him. 

There are many other terriers — the Skye, with coat nearly Other 
sweeping the ground ; the Bedlington, somewhat like a tall terriers. 
Dandie ; the black and tan, the Aberdeen, the Welsh terrier, and 
others less well known ; but for pluck, brains, and fidelity, 
it is impossible to beat the Airedale and Bull-terriers. 

Of all spaniels the Clumber is the most intelligent and Spaniels. 
beautiful ; he is also, although not a very demonstrative dog, very 
sincere in his devotion to his master. 

The Cocker is a small spaniel : an active, merry little 
fellow who can be taught to retrieve. The black spaniel and 
the liver-coloured Sussex are, like the Clumber, of the oldest and 
best breeds, and the Sussex variety makes an excellent house 
dog. He is quiet and dignified and has very good manners. 
The common Norfolk spaniel is intelligent, a good water dog, 
and a faithful companion. A satisfactory puppy should not cost 



300 



What Shall We Do Now? 



The 
retriever. 

Setters. 



The collie. 



The sheep 
doer. 



more than £i. He and the Cocker are the best of the spaniels 
as pets, although these two breeds are also capable of good work 
in the field if carefully trained. 

Retrievers occasionally make good companions, but for the 
most part they are dogs of one idea — retrieving — and have little 
interest in using their intelligence in any other direction. 

The setter is a wise and affectionate animal. He is full of 
spirit and needs careful training, but train him well as a puppy 
and you will be able to take him everywhere with you, for he is 
a very gallant and courteous gentleman. In colour the English 
setter varies with the different breeds. The Gordon setter is 
black and tan, and the Irish is red. 

The reputation for uncertain temper which collies have is not 
well grounded. They are excitable, it is true, and apt to snap if 
you romp too long and wildly with them, and they do not take 
correction kindly ; but people who have owned many specimens of 
this beautiful breed testify to having found them always loving 
and sagacious. A collie should always belong to one person ; 
many masters make him too universal in his affections, and under 
these circumstances he does not develop intelligently. The 
collie at work is the wisest of dogs, he knows each individual 
sheep in his care, and in snow or mist will bring every one to the 
fold before he rests. 

Collies may be taught to play hide-and-seek — a game they 
are very fond of. First hide a ball in the room and help the dog 
to find it, and by degrees he will find anything by himself and 
will seek all over the house and garden. Among bad habits 
many collies have the serious one of running round and barking 
at horses. This should be checked by keeping the dog strictly 
to heel where he is likely to meet any traffic. 

The old English bob-tailed sheep dog is a bouncing, rough- 
and-ready fellow. He is not suitable for a house dog, but he is 
honest and true and a good worker, and one can get extremely 
fond of him. 



What Shall We Do Now? 301 

The Newfoundland is one of the grandest of beasts. The The New- 
true Newfoundland is black all over, except for a white star owfoundland. 
the chest, and he stands at least 27 inches at the shoulder. The 
black-and-white specimens are called Landseer Newfoundlands, 
on account of the famous painter's fondness for them. In character 
these dogs are dignified and magnanimous, and they are particu- 
larly good with children. Many stories are told of their gallant 
efforts in saving life from drowning. The Newfoundland is used 
for draught in the island from which he takes his name. 

The mastiff is the best of all guards ; it is more pure instinct The mastiff. 
with him to guard his master's property than it is with any other 
breed. He is honest through and through, and as a rule he is 
gentle and a good companion. He is a thoroughly English dog. 

The bull-dog is stupid and not particularly affectionate. The bidl- 
Although excitable he is not quarrelsome or savage, and if reason- dog. 
ably treated no doubt would make a quiet, faithful pet. A not 
too highly bred bull-dog is likely to be more intelligent than his 
very blue-blooded relations. 

The most majestic of dogs is the St. Bernard. He is high- The 
couraged and sagacious and very discriminating in his devotion. St. Bernard. 
Once your friend, he is always your friend. Although with you 
he never makes a mistake, he is apt to growl at strangers, and is 
not to be relied on to be polite to visitors. If you have one of 
the rough-coated variety you must groom him regularly and take 
great care of him, as he is a delicate dog and subject to weakness 
in the back and hind legs if he is allowed to get wet or lie on 
damp ground. 

The Great Dane, or boarhound, is a powerful and active dog. The 
His appearance is suggestive almost of a wild beast, and he is Great Dane. 
particularly well fitted to act as guard. He is gentle and manage- 
able with those he knows, and his great courage, intelligence, and 
strength make him a most desirable companion. 

Hounds are all sagacious, interesting dogs. The Fox-hound, Hounds. 
with his dash and speed and wonderful endurance ; the Harrier, 



3 o2 What Shall We Do Now? 

slower, but with perhaps keener scent ; the shaggy, irritable Otter 
Hound ; the Beagle and the Basset : all are wise beasts. They 
are not, however, very well fitted for house dogs, unless you have 
a puppy to "walk" from some neighbouring M.F.H., when you 
will probably grow so fond of the loving, playful baby that you 
will feelvery sad when the time comes for him to enter the pack 
and learn his work. 

Of hounds that hunt by sight we have the English Greyhound, 
swiftest of dogs, but neither very intelligent nor affectionate ; the 
Scotch Deerhound, dignified and very devoted to his master, and 
a wonderful jumper over gates and walking-sticks ; and the Irish 
Wolf-hound, bigger and less graceful than either of the others, but 
with a great big heart and noble courage. Gelert was of this 
breed. There is also the Borzoi, whose appearance is a combina- 
tion of greyhound and setter, a very beautiful but rather stupid 
animal. Finally, there is the Blood-hound, remarkable for great 
intelligence, good temper, and fidelity. He is one of the finest of 
dogs, wise and self-reliant and capable of the truest devotion to 
his master. He seldom or never fights, but is full of courage in 
spite of his naturally nervous disposition. 

Toy dogs. Toy dogs are fairly intelligent, but noisy and wayward. They 

cannot be recommended as interesting pets, since they have little 
originality ; but they can be taught tricks, and if treated sensibly 
and not pampered, no doubt they would develop more intelligence. 
The best of the toy dogs are Pugs, Schipperkes, toy Pomeranians, 
the King Charles' Spaniel (black and tan in colour), and the Blen- 
heim spaniel (white and chestnut). 

The The Pomeranian is a sharp and rather snappy dog, not 

Pomeranian, remarkable for either great intelligence or amiability ; but, as with 
all breeds, there are individual exceptions to this rule. 

Poodles. Poodles are intelligent and the best of all dogs for learning 

tricks. They are also very expensive. 

Mongrels. Mongrels can be the best of friends. They are often more 

original and enterprising than their too highly-bred cousins, and 



What Shall We Do Now? 303 

they are very self-reliant ; but as a rule they are not so courageous 
nor so steadfast as a well-bred dog. The chief advantage of 
possessing a mongrel is that dog-stealers are less likely to be 
tempted by him, and you can give him more freedom, which 
will make him more interesting and intelligent than a dog you 
need to shut up and look after carefully. 

Cats 

There is very little to say about cats, except that they need Cats. 
much petting and plenty of milk and tit-bits. They should 
always have a warm bed in a basket or chair. They should never 
be allowed to stay out-of-doors at night. 

Rabbits and Hares 

Of all rabbits the brightest and most intelligent, as a pet, is Wild 
the wild rabbit. If you can get two or three baby wild rabbits rabbits. 
and feed them on milk, they will grow up very tame. We heard 
recently of two small wild rabbits that were taken out of the nest 
and brought up by hand. They and their mistress and a collie 
pup would play together, and they ran about the room, racing 
over the floor and furniture. In the summer one escaped from 
the coop on the lawn in which they were shut up, so the other 
was turned loose too. They would both come out of the bushes 
when called, run about over one's dress, and hunt pockets for 
oats or bits of apple, and would still play with their old friend 
the collie. It is sad to tell of their death, which they met at the 
jaws of a strange dog who came marauding. They did not re- 
cognise in him an enemy, and easily fell his victims. 

Another tamed wild rabbit was kept in a poulterer's shop. 
He came alive with many dead ones from the country, and was 
nursed back to health. Tame 

The long-haired Angora variety of rabbit is intelligent and rabbits. 



304 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Rabbits' 
hutches. 



Food mid 
exercise. 



very handsome. These need regular grooming and great care, 
or their long coat gets matted and frowsy. Belgian hares are 
big, powerful animals, rather apt to be uncertain in temper, but 
they have beautiful glossy coats and are enterprising and amusing. 
The lop-eared rabbit is a stately beast and less brisk than his 
prick-eared relations. The Himalayan rabbit has no connection 
with the mountain chain from which it has its name, is white, 
with all its extremities — nose, ears, tail, and feet — black or very 
dark in colour. The Dutch rabbits are small. The body is 
coloured, but the neck, forelegs, and jaws are white. But to the 
ordinary owner of a rabbit in a hutch, particular variety does not 
matter very much. 

A good hutch can be made of a grocer's box, by covering the 
open front partly with bars or wire netting and making a door. 
The hutch should stand on legs, or at any rate should be raised 
from the ground, and holes should be bored in the bottom for 
drainage. Then put in clean straw, and it is ready for the rabbit. 
In cold or wet weather and at night, it is well to throw a cloth 
over the hutch for warmth. The hutch must be well ventilated, 
and it should be made in two compartments, one to admit 
plenty of light, and the other dark. It should be made so that 
the animal may be confined in either compartment while the other 
is cleaned out. 

Bran, grain, and vegetables — such as peas, parsley, carrots, 
turnip-tops, but not much cabbage — serve for rabbits' food. It is 
advisable to vary it occasionally. The leaves should not be wet, 
but a dish of clean water may always stand in the hutch. 

The animal should be allowed at least half an hour's run every 
day, precautions being taken against its burrowing habits, and 
against its finding anything poisonous to eat. More than one 
family should not be allowed out at the same time, as they are 
very pugnacious. Most diseases are the result of neglect in 
cleaning out the hutch regularly and thoroughly. Rabbits which 
most nearly approach the wild in colour are hardiest. 



What Shall We Do Now? 305 

If you find you have an intelligent rabbit who quickly learns Teaching 
to come to you when you call him by name, you will find, with rabbits. 
patience, you can teach him that when you say "On trust," he 
must not touch the dainty you offer him, and that " Paid for " 
means he may have it. He will also learn to "die," and shake 
hands when you tell him to do so. 

Cowper's description of his tame hares proves that they can Wild hares. 
be turned into very charming pets too. But a bachelor poet, 
with plenty of time on his hands, has a better chance of giving 
them the attention they need than you would have. Still, if a 
young or wounded hare ever strays into the garden and is caught, 
it would be well worth while to try and tame it. It should not 
be kept as closely to the hutch as a rabbit; indeed an enclosure 
is better for it than a hutch can be. The same food as the 
rabbit's will serve. 

Guinea-pigs need treatment and housing similar to rabbits. Guinea-pigs. 

Squirrels and Mice 

In buying a squirrel make sure it is a young one, because Squirrels. 
whereas a young one is difficult enough to tame, an old one is 
not to be tamed at all. Unless you can give him a really large 
cage, with room for a branch on which he may leap about, it 
is cruel to keep a squirrel at all, so beautifully free is his nature. 
A little side compartment containing a revolving wheel should 
be added. Your only chance of taming him is to be extremely 
quiet and gentle in all your visits to the cage and in giving him 
his food — nuts, acorns, grain, cold boiled potatoes, dry bread, and 
now and then a small piece of cooked meat. A very charming 
account of what it is possible to do with tame squirrels will be 
found in a little book called Billy and Hans, by Mr. W. J. 
Stillman. 

Mice should have a cage with two compartments, one of Mice. 
which should have a door in the wood-work but no wires. In 

x 



306 What Shall We Do Now? 

this room should be a bed of hay. The natural food of mice is 
grain, but in captivity they are generally fed on bread and milk 
and slices of apple. They can be tamed to a small extent, but 
for the most part they do no more than run round a wheel, 
although if other gymnastic contrivances are offered them they 
will probably do something with them. Dormice (to whose 
food you may add nuts) sleep through the winter months, and 
are therefore not very interesting for more than half the year. 



Tortoises and Fish 

Tortoises A tortoise is rather an interesting animal to keep, although 

he will not do much in return. Sixpence or ninepence will buy 
a tiny one either at a naturalist's shop or from the men who 
wheel barrow-loads of them through the London streets every 
now and then. In the summer you can usually tell where the 
tortoise is likely to be found — probably in a corner of the 
rockery — but even in summer they have a curious way of 
disappearing for weeks together, and in winter, of course, you 
see nothing of them. As a rule they can feed themselves, and 
they also have the happy knack of doing without food altogether 
for long periods, so that you need not be anxious. 

Fish. Bowls of goldfish are not uncommon, but few people seem 

to care for fish of other kinds. And yet a little aquarium 
can be stocked for a few shillings and is a most interesting 
possession. One small tank of young bream, for example, can 
be a perpetual and continually fresh delight. Let the tank 
have cloisters of rockwork and jungles of weed, so that hiding 
may be possible, and then watch the smaller fish at their 
frolics. Young trout are hardly less beautiful, and very easy to 
keep healthy, in spite of general opinion to the contrary. (The 
important thing is to maintain a current of water through the 
tank. The old way was to carry the overflow down a pipe in 



What Shall We Do Now? 307 

the centre through its surface opening, but an improvement on 
this system is for the leakage to be at the bottom of the tank 
and the inflow at the top.) Young perch are beautiful too, — and 
tench, and dace, and roach, — and all are hardy. Feeding them is 
very simple. The shop from which you buy the fish will keep 
you supplied with the proper food. At the Covent Garden 
aquarium you can see fish of all kinds and there also you can 
get a list of prices and arrange for a regular supply of worms. 
Foreign fish may be seen there too, fish which, if not more 
beautiful — and really nothing could be more beautiful than a 
young bream — are more quaint. The American catfish, for 
instance, with its curious antennae or whiskers, and its gleaming 
eyes, set as by a jeweller, is more wonderful, and not a whit more 
difficult to keep. But to be amused by such unfamiliar neigh- 
bours as a tankful of fish there is no real need either to stray 
abroad or to spend any money. The ordinary minnow, which 
you can catch in any stream and pop into a jar, will serve to 
introduce you to a new world — a world of silent progressions, 
of incredible celerities, of amazing respirations. 

Silkworms 

Silkworms, if kept at all, ought to be taken seriously and Silkworms. 
used for their true purpose. That is to say, you really ought to 
wind their silk carefully. Few owners of silkworms in this 
country seem to trouble to do this. Silkworms' eggs can be 
bought of any naturalist, or some one who keeps silkworms will 
willingly give you some. The time is about the end of April. 
They are usually laid on scraps of paper, and these you put in 
shallow paper and cardboard trays covered with gauze, and 
place them in the room where the sun can reach them. As the 
worms hatch out you must move them — it is done best with a 
small paint brush — to another tray or trays and keep them 
supplied with fresh mulberry leaves or lettuce. The worms 



308 What Shall We Do Now? 

continue to grow for about a month, and then, when full-sized, 
they prepare to spin. You may know that this time is reached 
by their refusal to eat, and you must then make a little paper 
toilet, about 2 inches deep, for each worm, and drop it in. You 
have now nothing to do (except to watch the worms regularly) 
for some weeks, in which time the cocoon has been finished and 
the worm has become a chrysalis. When the chrysalis inside the 
cocoon rattles the time has come to wind the silk, or the moth 
will shortly emerge and eat it. The outside of the cocoon is 
useless and can be removed by placing the cocoon in warm water. 
Once that is out of the way, the silk can be wound on a card. 
The moth soon afterwards appears and, after growing to its full 
size, lays its eggs — some two hundred — and dies. It must be 
remembered that with silkworms a little practical demonstration 
from any one who has kept them is worth much more than many 
pages of hints. One thing is of the highest importance, and that 
is constant attention. Silkworms must never be neglected. 
Other Silkworms are more useful but not more interesting than 

caterpillars. man y other caterpillars which can be hatched from eggs. The 
Privet Hawk Moth, for example, is very easily bred, and a very 
beautiful creature it is when in full plumage. But for information 
on this subject you must go to more scientific books. 

Pigeons and the Larger Birds 

Pigeons. Pigeons are not exactly pets, for they rarely do more than 

come to you for their food, just as chickens do, but they are 
beautiful creatures and no country roof is quite complete without 
them, and a dove-cot is a very pretty and homely old-fashioned 
object. Usually, however, the birds are given a portion of a 
loft. Whatever the nature of their home, it must have separate 
compartments for each pair of pigeons and must be warm. If 
a loft is used there should be sand or gravel on the floor, with 
a little lime to assist the formation of the shells of the pigeons' 



What Shall We Do Now? 309 

eggs. The place should be kept clean, and you must guard 
against rats and cats. Pigeons eat peas and pigeons' -beans 
and most kinds of grain. If they fly loose they will find out 
other food, such as green meat, for themselves. But if you keep 
them at home you ought to give them some. They should have 
a dish of water in a regular place. New pigeons should be shut 
up by wiring in their house for a fortnight before you give them 
their liberty, or they will fly away. They do not care for hay or 
straw in their boxes, but will make a nest in their own way when 
they need one. Pigeons are of many kinds, the commonest of 
which is perhaps the Runt, and the prettiest a white Fantail. 
Any one who takes up pigeons except merely for the pleasure of 
owning one or two should read up the subject carefully. 

Doves, which are happier when kept in pairs, require the Doves. 
same food as pigeons. As a rule they are kept in wicker cages. 
They are not very interesting. 

Parrots are most companionable pets, and, next to a dog, quite Parrots. 
the most interesting and intelligent. They are always cheerful : 
whistling, singing, and talking. The gray parrot is the best 
talker, and speaks much more distinctly than any other kind, but 
the Blue-fronted Amazon is more amusing and far better-tempered 
as a rule. These birds are very beautiful, with bright green 
plumage and touches of yellow and red, and a blue patch on the 
forehead. The best food for parrots is Carter's parrot seed, on 
which they may be fed entirely, and they should never be 
allowed dainties except nuts, fruit, and a little piece of sugar. 
In the summer time sprinkle your parrot with water through a 
fine hose every morning, but in the winter do so only when he 
asks for a bath by trying to get into the water basin. As 
to talking, parrots will pick up far more readily any words 
they hear by accident than any that you set yourself to teach 
them. They will also get by heart in this way a few bars of a 
whistled tune. When parrots are apparently spiteful it often 
proceeds much more from nervousness than from vice. If 



310 What Shall We Do Now? 

frightened they will peck anything near them. It is important to 
have a thick baize cover for your parrot's cage, and to put this 
over it directly the lamps are lit. 
Magpies and These birds, which may be called the English parrots, are very 
■jackdaws. amusing pets. Both have odd characters and a good deal of brain, 
and both are mischievous thieves. Anything that glitters they 
particularly like, and if you find their hiding-place you are certain 
to find things in it that have been missed. They should not be 
kept in cages, except at night, but be allowed to wander about, 
with a clipped wing to prevent flight. The objection to them is 
that they are rather dirty; but they talk so comically, and alto- 
gether grow to be so companionable and interesting that this 
must be put up with. For food they like bread and milk, insects, 
caterpillars, snails, worms, and meat. 

Smaller Birds 

Smaller cage Before coming to the different kinds of birds which you can 

birds. keep, a few general words about their care ought to be said. 

Remember that with them, as with all pets, the most important 

Cages. f a ii rules is perfect cleanliness. The best cages are wooden 

ones with unpainted wires, and the perches should be of different 
thicknesses, as, if they are all one size, the bird is likely to get 
cramp in his feet. Once a week at least the perches and tray 
should be scrubbed with very hot water with soda in it, but they 
must be dried thoroughly before they are put back into the cage ; 
therefore if possible it is best to have two sets of perches and to 
use them alternately. A thick layer of red sand or shell gravel 
should be sprinkled on the tray, and occasionally a pinch of maw- 
seed thrown on it. 

Baths. All birds should have a bath given them. They like best a 

shallow glass dish, which should be put in the cage when the tray 
is out. It is a good plan to , put a biscuit-tin lid on the floor of 
the cage to prevent the bird from making the woodwork wet. 



What Shall We Do Now? 311 

Other rules in the care of all birds are — never let them be in a 
draught, but do not keep them in a very warm place. Cover 
them with a white cloth at night, and in cold weather put a shawl 
over that. 

Seed-eating birds do best if they are fed on canary seed and a Food. 
little summer rape, with now and then a few hemp-seeds, some 
Hartz mountain bread, and a bit of groundsel or water-cress that 
has been well washed. If they look dull and sit in a puffed-up 
little heap, a drop of brandy in their water often does good ; and, 
should they show signs of asthma, try chopped, hard-boiled egg, 
with a few grains of cayenne pepper, and a bit of saffron or a 
rusty nail in the water. These are also good when the bird is 
moulting. For insect-eating birds you must buy meal-worms and 
ants' eggs, and thrushes and blackbirds need earth-worms as well. 

Some birds are easily taught tricks. We remember a red- Tricks. 
poll who would draw his water up from a well in the cage in a 
little bucket ; but if you teach your bird to do this you must be 
careful to watch him, in case the string gets twisted and the 
bucket does not reach the water, when your pet will suffer terribly 
from thirst. He will also learn to pull his seed-box up an in- 
clined board if you put it day by day a little farther from him, so 
that he must draw the string to get his food. It is better to take 
a long time in training birds, and tempt them with any dainty 
they care most for, such as water-cress, groundsel, chickweed, or 
hemp-seed, as otherwise you must starve the bird first, or he will 
not trouble to get the seed. This means a certain amount of 
cruelty and cannot be right. 

The favourite cage-bird is the canary, which, though a foreign Canaries. 
bird, is kept in this country in greater numbers than any other 
bird, and is also bred here. So English has it become that one 
desirable variety of it is known as the Norwich. 

Many Englishmen make a good living by selling canaries, not 
always too honestly. Indeed, one has to be very well posted up 
in the nature of the bird to be protected against deception when 



3 i2 What Shall We Do Now? 

buying it ; and you ought therefore, in getting a canary, to find 
some one competent to buy what you want. 

Canaries must be kept carefully. They cannot stand so much 
air as an ordinary finch. Be particular that the cage does not 
hang in a draught, and let it be large enough for comfort. When 
evening comes it is kinder to take the cage out of a room in which 
there will be much light and noise, and put it somewhere dark 
and quiet, as the air of a room where gas is burned is not good 
for it. But if moving the cage is not. convenient, lower it to a 
position below the level' of the burners and cover it up with a 
thick cloth. By day the cage should be hung in the sunshine if 
possible, but if the sun is very hot a green gauze cover ought to 
protect the bird a little. If the bird's singing is too lusty — as 
sometimes happens — a handkerchief thrown over the cage 1 will 
check it ; but this seems rather hard treatment. 

In feeding canaries follow the rules on p. 311, but you may 
put a lump of sugar between the bars now and then, or a sprig of 
groundsel or water-cress. Do not give them cake ; it is no real 
kindness. 

When they are moulting, canaries (and other birds too) need 
rather more attention. Give them a little richer food, such as 
chopped-up eggs, and put some saffron in the water. There is a 
kind of insect called the red mite which often attacks canaries. 
It is not the rule by any means that canaries should be thus 
troubled — many escape — but it may happen. If you cannot 
account for the bird's despondency in any other way, catch it and 
look at its skin under the feathers of the breast and the under 
part of the wings. If there are little red spots, it means that the 
red mites have found out the cage, and you must wash the bird 
every day with a weak solution of white precipitate powder- — 
about twelve grains to a small glass of warm water — and either 
wash the cage too with a stronger solution, or, if it is a wooden one, 
destroy it. Now and then you ought to clip their claws, if they 
seem too loner. 



What Shall We Do Now? 313 

The budgerigars, or love-birds, feed almost entirely on millet The 
or canary seed, and they like a sod of grass in their cage. They budgerigar 
are bright little birds, but are naturally very wild and need much 
petting if you wish to tame them. Once tamed, however, they 
are very confiding and amusing. 

One of the most beautiful of cage-birds is the red-crested The 
cardinal. He is quite hardy and eats seeds and insects impartially, cari * tnal - 
thriving on canary, millet, and a little hemp-seed, with meal-worms 
now and then. He should always have a very large cage, or he 
will spoil his plumage. His song is sweet and strong. 

Wax-bills eat millet-seed, canary seed, and a little soaked Wax-bills. 
bread and sponge-cake. 

Java sparrows are pretty creatures, although they do very little Other 
for you. Perhaps the most attractive of small foreign birds is the f orei 'g n 
avadavat, a tiny, perky little soldier. These live quite comfort- ir s ' 
ably together ; and indeed, if it is permitted, you should certainly, 
for the non-singing birds, have a large cage and keep many such 
birds in it rather than put them in small cages. They will be 
far happier. 

The chaffinch has to re-learn his song every spring, and for a The 
fortnight or more you will hear him trying his voice very sweetly chaffinch. 
and softly, but as soon as he has acquired his song in perfection, 
it will be so strong and piercing that on fine days he often has to 
be banished from the sitting-room. He should not, however, be 
exposed too much to sun and wind ; a cloth thrown over half 
the cage will make a shelter. The chaffinch is another bird that 
should never be put in a bell-shaped cage. He should occasion- 
ally have flies and other insects given him. He is lively and 
hardy and a very gay companion. 

We remember a goldfinch that became very tame, perching on The 
his owner's hands and taking seed from her lips. Goldfinches goldfinch. 
should never be kept in bell-shaped cages — which make them 
giddy — but should have one with a square flat top. Along this 
they will run head downwards. They are such active birds that 



3H 



What Shall We Do Now? 



The siskin, 



The 

bullfinch; 



The yellow 
bunting. 



they need plenty of space. They chatter all day long and are 
very cheery, and they are very beautiful in their brown, gold, and 
scarlet coats. In a wild state the goldfinch feeds chiefly on the 
seeds of weeds and thistles, groundsel, and dandelion, and he is 
therefore a friend to the farmer, but in captivity he will thrive on 
canary and German rape with several hemp-seeds daily, and now 
and then lettuce, thistle-seed, and fruit. 

In a large family of birds which we once knew, the siskin was 
one of the most interesting. He was clever and friendly ; one of 
his tricks was to run along his perch to the bars of the cage and 
thrust his claw out to "shake hands," clinging to the finger offered 
him with great vigour. His song was very sweet and gentle. 
Rape, linseed, and canary seed suit all finches. 

The bullfinch is squarely built, with a black head and pink 
breast. No bird can be more affectionate and intelligent. He 
will learn to pipe tunes if you put him in the dark and whistle a 
few bars of some easy melody to him over and over again ; and 
he soon gets a number of fascinating tricks. After a while you 
will be able to let him out of the cage at meal-times, when he 
will hop about from plate to plate and steal little tit-bits. No 
bird is so fond of sitting on its owner's shoulder as the bullfinch 
can be. Also, unhappily, few birds are so liable to fatal illness. 
A bullfinch can be apparently quite well one minute and the next 
you find him lying at the bottom of the cage. Over-eating is 
often the cause of his death, so that one must be careful. Hemp- 
seed and apple-pips, for instance, which he loves, should be given 
in moderation. Rape and millet, lettuce and ripe fruit suit 
him best. Gardeners are great enemies of this sturdy little bird 
on account of the damage he does amongst fruit-trees, but he 
probably does a great deal more good than he does harm by eating 
insects which are fatal to plants. 

The yellow bunting (or yellow hammer) can be a pet ; and he 
has the sweetest little whispering song. If you have a caged 
bunting, his seed should be soaked in cold water for some hours 



What Shall We Do Now? 315 

before it is given to him, and he must have the yoke of a hard- 
boiled egg, meal-worms, ants' eggs, and any insects you can catch 
for him. He must also have plenty of opportunities for bathing, 
and as much fresh air without draughts as possible. 

Linnets have a very sweet song of their own and will readily The linnet. 
learn other notes. 

The greenfinch is a hardy, tame bird ; he is seldom troubled The 
with any disease and will live many years in captivity. greenfinch. 

All the birds in the finch group eat the same food and require 
similar attention. 

The blackbird is delicate when caged and must have plenty The 
of nutritious food, bread and milk, boiled vegetables, ripe fruit, blackbird. 
insects, and snails. He is a thirsty bird and needs plenty of 
water. 

The thrush makes a delightful pet and will live many years The thrush. 
if he has a large cage and if great attention is paid to cleanliness. 
He will eat almost anything, but best likes insects, berries, and 
fruit. 

It is better for larks to be singing and fluttering in the sky Larks. 
than to be cooped up in captivity. One feels that no other small 
bird so needs its freedom. All would probably rather be free 
than not, but for a goldfinch and a bullfinch the change from flitting 
from tree to tree in the hedgerow to flitting from perch to perch 
in a large cage is much less serious than for a lark the change 
from the open air to the narrow bounds of the extremely minute 
boxes in which they are usually kept. If a lark is given you, 
see that he has a roomy cage and that it has a piece of 
baize stretched tightly across about an inch below the roof to 
prevent him from hurting his head. Strew the floor with red 
coarse sand, powdered chalk and old mortar bruised, and keep a 
bit of turf in a saucer of water. The food and drinking-water 
should hang outside. The yoke of hard-boiled eggs chopped 
small and mixed with bread crumbs should be the chief food, 
but vary this diet with ants' eggs, meal-worms, German paste, 



316 What Shall We Do Now? 

sponge-cake, lean meat, water-cress, lettuce, and cabbage. If the 
bird seems ill give him saffron in his water, a little old dry 
Cheshire cheese grated, some ground rice and a small spider or 
two. But remember that the lark is a bird that does not perch 
and is always longing to rise up and up in the sunshine and blue 
air ; and if you have any doubt about it let him go. 
Tits. If you keep tits in a cage they should have plenty of room, 

a branch or two to play upon and cocoa-nut shells hanging from 
the top for them to sleep in. They like spiders, which you 
will have to catch for them — rather a cruel business ; and ants' 
eggs and meal-worms, which can be bought. If you live in the 
country it is much better that your tits should not be in a cage at 
all, but should merely be encouraged to look upon your garden 
as a place where no harm will come to them and where food 
is always to be found. They soon become trustful, and nothing 
is prettier than the movements of these tiny feathered mice, as 
they might be called. 

Tom-tits, and tits of all kinds, especially like cocoa-nut 
(though they will come to the window-sill simply for bread 
crumbs). The cocoa-nut should be sawn in two, and a hole 
bored through each half, about an inch from the edge. A 
strong string is then threaded in and they are hung from the 
bough of a tree. They should be hung rather high up, on a 
bough reaching as far out from the trunk as possible, so as to 
avoid all risk from the cat. The tits frequent elm-trees more 
than any others, because the rough bark contains many insects, but 
you may choose any kind of tree, as close to your windows as 
you like. The birds will keep pecking at the cocoa-nut all day 
long and will soon want a new one. A cocoa-nut should not 
cost more than 3d., but the best way to get them is to win them 
in a " roll, bowl, or pitch " place at a fair in the village. If you 
have no tree near the house you might fasten a cord across the 
outer frame of your window and tie the pieces of nut to that. 
The tits would soon find out the cocoa-nut and come to it, and 



What Shall We Do Now? 317 

bread crumbs could also be put on the window-sill to attract 
them. Or, if you have a verandah, they could be hung up there, 
if you could make them safe from the cat. Mrs. Earle, in her book 
More Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden^ gives elaborate directions 
for an arrangement in a verandah or balcony of cocoa-nuts, etc., 
for the birds. Lumps of fat will do as well as cocoa-nut. Some 
tits also greatly love a bone to pick at — an uncooked one with 
plenty of fat on it, which the butcher will probably be glad to 
give you if you ask him and explain its purpose. It can be 
hung up in a tree or merely laid on the window-sill. 

In the ordinary way one would not keep robins at all. They The robin. 
are so tame and fond of the company of human beings that they 
will come regularly to the door for crumbs every morning and 
never be far off at any time. But if a wounded robin is found 
or a nest is abandoned (probably owing to the death of the 
mother at the cat's hands) just before the young birds are ready 
to fly, you might pop them in a cage. They do not often thrive 
long in captivity, even if the confinement does not seem irksome, 
but to keep one until it was strong enough to be let loose would 
be a kindness. Still there have been many cases of happy tame 
robins. The best food for them is bread crumbs, grated carrot, 
yoke of egg and sponge-cake mixed together, the carrot making 
the mixture moist enough. A few insects daily are advisable. 
Robins are such quarrelsome birds that it is impossible to keep 
two of them in an aviary, or even to keep one robin with birds 
weaker than himself. Perhaps the best way to treat a pet 
robin is to let him fly all over the house in the winter. He may 
one day fly away altogether in the spring, but if he is alive he 
is almost certain to come back again when the cold weather 
begins. 

Robins in the garden are so pretty, so cheeky so sweetly Garden 
musical, and are so friendly to man (in spite of their arrogance and robins. 
selfishness among birds) that they ought to be encouraged. As 
the only way of encouraging wild birds is to feed them, we have 



318 What Shall We Do Now? 

to try and give them what they like best. Robins are quite 
content with bread crumbs only. They will eat sop if they 
can get nothing else ; but they prefer crumbs, and not too dry. 
For an especial treat they like fat bacon beyond everything : 
cooked bacon, that has been boiled, not fried. It should be 
mixed up very small, and the bread also crumbled into tiny 
morsels, for robins like to eat very nicely and daintily (and they 
do not seem able to hold their food in their claws as tom-tits 
can, but have to break it up with their beak). Robins are pleased 
to have crumbs given them all the seasons through, though in 
the autumn they can very well take care of themselves. 

Each robin has his own special domain, which any other 
robin invades at his peril. The robins that come to the window for 
food are those that belong to that particular side of the house and no 
other. This means that there are other robins in different parts 
of the garden which will have to be fed in their own special 
localities. You will soon find out where these are, even if you 
have not already been guided to them by their songs. Robins 
like their food scattered always in the same place, or under the 
same tree, and, as nearly as you can, at the same time. Then 
you will find them on the look-out for you, and if you take 
always the same basket (a rather shallow flat one which stands 
firmly) and, putting it on the ground, go a few steps away, you 
will see them hop into it. After a few days they will probably 
get tame enough to come into the basket while it is in your 
hand ; only you must have a little patience at first, and hold it 
very still, and of course you must not have previously scattered 
any food on the ground. 
Birds in the This brings us to the other garden birds which we have no 

garden. wish to put in cages, but which it is well to be as kind to as 

possible. In winter, when there is a frost, to feed them is ab- 
solutely necessary ; but at all times it is well that they should 
know that you are not enemies (of which they have so many) 
but their friends. The following notes, together with the foregoing 



What Shall We Do Now? 319 

passage on feeding robins, on birds in the garden have been kindly 
prepared for this book by Miss M. C. G. Jackson : — 

" Birds are grateful all the year through for a shallow pan of 
water, which they can drink from and use also as a bath. And 
the bees, too, will be glad to come and get a sip of water, for 
they also are thirsty things. A small round yellow milk-pan is 
excellent for the thrushes and blackbirds, but it is as well to 
provide a smaller one, say an ordinary shallow pie-dish, for the 
robins and little birds. These should be refilled twice a day, at 
least, in summer time. You can place the pans on the grass or 
path, where you can see them comfortably from the house, but 
not nearer than you can help, because the blackbirds are rather 
shy, and it would be a pity to make drinking too great an ad- 
venture for them. 

" Birds are thankful for a little feeding right through the spring, 
both when the mother bird is sitting on the nest and the father 
has to forage for two, and when the young ones are hatched and 
there are at once many more mouths to fill. In the summer too, 
if it should be unduly wet and cold, or unduly hot and dry, and 
grubs and insects scarce, the young birds are pleased to find a 
meal ready for them. But in the winter it is a positive duty to 
feed the birds ; for remember that when the ground" is covered 
with snow, or frozen hard, they can get no insects, and thus, after 
all the berries have gone, they will starve unless they are helped 
with other food. 

" Almost every household has enough waste scraps, if they 
are collected carefully, to give the birds a good meal once a day. 
Bread, of course, will form the chief part, but nothing comes 
amiss to them, however tiny. Morsels of suet, dripping, shreds 
of fat, meat, and fish, and cheese rind also, all mixed up to- 
gether, are an especial treat. The mince should be well mixed 
with the bread crumbs, or all may not get a fair share. Crusts, 
or any hard, dry bits of bread, can be scalded into sop (though, 
unlike chickens, wild birds do not seem to like it hot), and a little 



3 20 What Shall We Do Now? 

piece of dripping or fat, soaked with the sop, makes it more tasty 
for them. If the supply of bread be short, the birds will be very 
pleased with chickens' rice. It should be the ' second quality ' 
kind, in the brown husk, which can be procured from most corn- 
dealers (or from Whiteley's at gd. for 7 lbs.). But this is hardly 
necessary excepting in a long hard frost. Starlings are especially 
fond of bones, and they will esteem it a favour if any which have 
been used in making soup, and are not required for the dog, are 
thrown out to them on the ground. Their joyous chattering over 
them is quite cheering, even on the dreariest winter's day. They 
are also grateful for the rind of a ham or piece of bacon, after it 
has been boiled. This should be thrown out to them whole, not 
cut up in little pieces. They are equally fond of the bones and 
skin remains of a ' dried ' haddock. Rooks, also, love fish scraps 
of any kind, but they are usually too wild and shy for you to be 
able to watch them feed. You can only scatter the food in some 
part where you have noticed them, and trust that they get it. 

" For the bolder birds, such as robins, you will like to put 
some food on the window-sills, and also on the path or grass close, 
to the house. But remember the more timid ones, and scatter 
it in other parts of the garden as well. 

" Sparrows, of course, deserve their food as well as any of the 
others; but it is rather. hard to see them taking every morning 
much more than their share, while the less courageous or im- 
pudent birds (who also sing to you) get none. It seems im- 
possible to prevent this, though Mr. Phil. Robinson, in his book 
Garden, Orchard, a?id Spinney (in the chapter entitled ' The 
Famine in my Garden '), recommends scattering some oatmeal 
mixed with a few bread crumbs on one side of the house, to 
keep the sparrows occupied, whilst you feed the other birds else- 
where. Sparrows, however, have a way of being on every side 
of the house at once. Still, if you feed your birds daily, and as 
nearly at the same time as possible (they like it as soon as may 
be after your own breakfast), you will find them on the look- 



What Shall We Do Now? 321 

out for you, and they will manage to get a good share, if they 
all start fair, in spite of the sparrows. In a hard frost they are 
thankful for a second meal, but it should not be later than two 
o'clock, because birds go to bed very early in cold weather, and 
the food would be frozen too hard for them to be able to eat it 
next morning. 

" One word more. There is great danger of birds being 
caught by a cat while they are busy with their food, especi- 
ally if near the bushes. The only possible protection against 
this which you can take is to see that your own cat is indoors 
and is therefore not the offender." 



SUNDAY 



SUNDAY 



The choice of occupations for Sunday is best left to parents. 
Different people have such very different views as to the right 
treatment of Sunday, and all have so many good reasons for 
believing as they do, that it is undesirable in a book like this to 
offer any advice at all. We have therefore merely mentioned a 
very few of the more old-fashioned ways of spending the time. 

There are several games already described which are often Sunday 
adapted for Sunday use. Acrostics, for example (see p. ^^ games. 
becomes a Sunday game by keeping the words chosen to the 
names of people or places in the Bible. Similarly Letters (see 
p. 137) can be used for scriptural names, and Capping Verses 
(see p. 79) for texts and quotations from hymns. Sunday 
" Clumps " (see p. 80) can be very interesting. 

A favourite Sunday pastime used to be the making of Bible Bible clocks. 
clocks. The first thing to do is to draw a circle on a piece of 
paper and then to divide it into twelve compartments of equal 
size, in which you place figures I to XII, as in a clock. You 
next take a word, such as " Love," and write it neatly in compart- 
ment I, then you find eleven other texts, or parts of texts, to 
inscribe in the remaining eleven compartments, each text con- 
taining the word " Love," and having the same number of words 
as the figure of the clock denotes. Thus in compartment II 
there must be two words, " Love " and one other ; in No. Ill, three 
words, " Love " and two others ; and so forth. Of course it is 



326 



What Shall We Do Now? 



better if a complete text can always be inserted, but for the 
first compartments this is very difficult owing to the shortness of 
the sentences. 



Other 
occupations. 



The Sunday magazines often contain interesting competitions 
suitable for Sunday afternoons, and there are a number of things, 
for quite small children, to do in Dartoris Sunday Pleasure Book, 
including pictures and drawings to be first copied and then 
described. If painting is allowed, the illumination of texts or 
the colouring of parish almanacs is a good occupation. 



Sunday Books 

When, a little while ago, a literary paper {The Academy) asked 
its readers to name the ten best Sunday books, the following list 
resulted : — 



The Pilgrim's Progress . 

Parables from Nature 

Ministering Children 

Agathos 

The Story of a Short Life 

The Book of Golden Deeds 

The Child's Book of Saints 

The Prince of the House of David 

Jessica's First Prayer . , 

The Child's Bible. 



By John Bunyan. 

„ Mrs. Gatty. 

,, Mrs. Charlesworth. 

,, S. Wilberforce. 

,, Mrs. Ewing. 

,, Miss Yonge. 

,, William Canton. 

,, J. H. Ingraham. 

„ Hesba Stretton. 



To these may be added many others, putting first the more 
directly teaching books and afterwards the stories : — 
A Book of Worthies . . . . -By Miss Yonge. 

,, John Ruskin. 



Ethics of the Dust . 

The Child's Life of Christ 

The Life of our Lord 

Jesus, the Carpenter of Nazareth 

Joseph the Dreamer 

Helps to the Study of the Bible. 

Sunday Echoes (Several Series) 

Sunday Evenings with my Children 

Talking- to the Children . 



Dean Farrar. 
Mrs. Marshall. 
Robert Bird. 



Mrs. Carey Brock. 
Benjamin Waugh. 
Alexander Macleod 



What Shall We Do Now? 



327 



Stories of the Saints . 

Stories in Illustration of the Lord's Prayer 

Line upon Line ...... 

The Peep of Day ...... 

The Chronicles of the Schonberg-Cotta Family 

Martyrs and Saints of the First Twelve Centuries 

Joan the Maid 

Kitty Trevelyan 

The Little Lives of the Saints 

Stories from the Bible 

Last Days of Jerusalem . 

The Hermits 

The History of Westminster Abbey 

The Holy War 



By Mrs. Molesworth. 
,, Mrs. Mortimer. 
„ Mrs. Charles. 



Rev. Percy Dearmer. 
Rev. A. J. Church. 

Charles Kingsley. 
Dean Stanley. 
John Bunyan. 



After these may be mentioned three historical stories which it 
is customary to consider suitable Sunday books : — 



The Throne of David 
Darkness and Dawn . 
Ben Hur . 



By J. H. Ingraham. 
,, Dean Farrar. 
,, Lew Wallace. 



Perhaps the best collection of verse for Sunday reading is 
Mrs. Alexander's 

Sunday Book of Poetry for Children. 

Among other books of an instructive kind which are often 
kept for Sundays are those of Dr. Smiles : — 



Self-Help. 

Life and Labour. 

Thrift. 



Lives of the Engineers. 

Men of Invention and Industry. 

The Life of George Stephenson. 



Mr. W. M. Thayer's books, which are of a similar character, 
include 

From Log Cabin to White House. 

From Farm House to White House. 

From the Tanyard to White House. 

The Pioneer Boy and how he became President. 

Tact, Push, and Principle. 

Records of missionaries and their endeavours form a large 
part of Sunday reading : the lives of such men as Paton, Moffat, 



328 



What Shall We Do Now? 



and Livingstone, and the narratives that lesser known men and 
women have sent home from far countries. 

A small list of favourite Sunday stories follows ; but many 
parents permit a wider choice among books, and there are certainly 
several works included in various sections of the reading chapter 
(see p. 331 and onwards) which belong equally well to Sunday. 
Mrs. Ewing (p. 337), Mrs. Molesworth (p. 337), Mrs. Marshall 
(p. 346), Miss Yonge (p. 346) — to name only these — are as 
fitting for one day as another. 



The Sequel to " Ministering Children " 

Christie's Old Organ 

Pilgrim Street 

Little Meg's Children . 

Bede's Charity 

Froggy^ Little Brother . 

"Her Benny" 

A Peep Behind the Scenes 

The Wide Wide World . 

Queechy . 

Probable Sons 

Teddy's Button 

Baxter's Second Innings 

Little Peter .... 

How Dante climbed the Mountain 

The Gold Thread . 

The Old Missionary . * . 

The Boy in Grey . 

Tales from St. Paul's 

Tales from Westminster Abbey 

Sacred Allegories 

The Rocky Island 

The Combatants . 

The Watchers on the Longships 



By Mrs. Charlesworth. 
,, Hesba Stretton. 



" Brenda." 
Silas K. Hocking. 
Mrs. Sewell. 
E. Wetherell. 

A. Le Feuvre. 

Prof. Drummond. 
Lucas Malet. 
R. E. Selfe. 
Norman Macleod. 

Henry Kingsley. 
Mrs. Frewen Lord. 

William Adams. 
S. Wilberforce. 
Edward Monro. 
J. F. Cobb. 



Among other simple stories that have always been popular are 
those of A. L. O. E., which include 



The Forlorn Hope. 
The Giant-Killer. 
Fairy Know-a-bit. 



The Silver Casket. 
The Holiday Chaplet. 
The Lady of Provence. 



READING 



READING 



All persons who care very much for reading will find their 
way naturally to the books most likely to please them ; left 
alone in a library they are never disappointed. For them no 
advice is necessary. Nor is advice important to those who 
have opportunities to compare notes on reading with friends who 
have similar tastes. For instance, two boys may fall to talking 
of books. " Have you read Ungava ? " one will say. " No ; 
who's it by?" " Ballantyne." "What else did he write?" 
" Well, he wrote The Coral Island!' " I've read that. If 
Ungava is anything like that, I must get it." He gets it ; and 
thus, either by asking others whose taste he can trust, or by 
going steadily on through each author who satisfies him, he will 
always have as much good reading as he needs. ' 

But there are still other readers — who have no real instinct 
for books, or no memory for authors' names, or few opportunities 
of comparing notes — for whom a list of books that are worth 
trying, books which have been tested and found all right by 
thousands of readers, ought to be very useful. In the following 
pages a list of this kind has been drawn up. It is very far 
indeed from anything like completeness — many good authors 
are not mentioned at all, and others have written many more 
books than are here placed under their names — but those chosen 
are in most cases their best, and it will be very easy for readers 
who want more to find out other titles. The books named are 



332 What Shall We Do Now? 

for the most part not new. But before children read new books 
they read old ; the new ones come later. What is suggested here 
is a ground-work. Moreover, there are so many ways for new 
books to suggest themselves that to attempt the impossible task 
of keeping pace with them here was unnecessary. 

Girls are such steady readers of what are called boys' books, 
and boys are occasionally so much interested in what are called 
girls' books, that the two groups have not been separated. All 
that has been done is to describe the nature of each division of 
stories. Sunday books are given in a previous chapter. 

Fairy Tales 

Nearly all the best old fairy tales are to be found in Mr. 
Andrew Lang's five collections : — 

The Blue Fairy Book. The Green Fairy Book. 

The Red Fairy Book. The Yellow Fairy Book. 

The Pink Fairy Book. 

Mr. Joseph Jacobs' collections are all interesting : — 

English Fairy Tales. More Celtic Fairy Tales. 

More English Fairy Tales. Indian Fairy Tales. 

Celtic Fairy Tales. The Book of Wonder Voyages. 

And to these should be added 

Sir George Dasent's Popular Tales from the Norse (Juvenile Edition). 
Old Deccan Days. Wolffs Fairy Tales. 

Many families do very well with merely 

Grimm's Fairy Tales. Andersen's Fairy Tales. 

The Arabian Nights. 

These are traditional. First favourites among new English fairy 
or whimsical tales are, of course, 

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland . . By Lewis Carroll. 

Through the Looking-glass . . .'.„,, „ 

of which there is no need to speak, nor of 



What Shall We Do Now? 



333 



The Water-Babies 

The King of the Golden River 

The Rose and the Ring 

High among modern fairy 
Macdonald, which include — 

The Princess and Curdie. 

The Princess and the Goblin. 

And among other good stories are — 
Mopsa the Fairy 
Prince Prigio 
The Gold of Fairnilee . 
The Bee-Man of Orn . 
The Clocks of Rondaine 
Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales 



By Charles Kingsley. 
,, John Ruskin. 
„ W. M. Thackeray. 

books are those by Dr. George 



The Light Princess. 

At the Back of the North Wind. 



By Jean Ingelow. 
Andrew Lang. 

Frank R. Stockton. 

>) )> 

Mrs. Ewing. 



One of the best comic fairy stories ever written — but it is very 
short — is "The Giant's Shoes" by Professor W. K. Clifford, which 
stands first in a volume called The Little People, edited by Lady 
Pollock. Lewis Carroll's " Bruno's Revenge," the story which 
was the beginning of Sylvie and Bruno, is perfect in its way. It 
has never been reprinted, but may be found in Aunt Judy (Mrs. 
Gatty's magazine) for 1868. Mr. Farrow's " Wallypug Stories," 
Judge Parry's Katawampus, and Prebendary Harry Jones's Prince 
Boohoo and Little Smuts are also popular. 



Legendary Tales 
Classical 



The Heroes 

A Wonder Book . 

Tanglewood Tales 

Old Greek Stories 

The Story of the Odyssey 

The Story of the Iliad . 

Stories from Homer 



The Morte D'Arthur . 
Tales from Shakespeare 



By Charles Kingsley. 
Nathaniel Hawthorne. 



C. H. Hanson. 
Rev. A. J. Church. 



Romantic 



By Sir T. Malory. 
„ Charles and Mary Lamb. 



334 What Shall We Do Now? 

Stories from the Faerie Queen . By Mary Macleod. 

Heroes of Chivalry and Romance . ,, Rev. A. J. Church. 

Stories of the Magicians . „ ,, ,, 

Heroes of Asgard . . „ A. and E. Keary. 

Here also we might place Gulliver's Travels. 



Verse and Poetry 

Our first acquaintance with poetry is made through nursery 
rhymes. Many collections of nursery rhymes may be had, one 
of the largest and most satisfactory being that with pictures by 
Mr. Gordon Browne and a preface by Professor Saintsbury. And 
there are also a number of very charming picture books of simple 
verse, suitable for small readers, such as Miss Kate Greenaway's 

Mother Goose. Under the Window. 

Marigold Garden. A. Apple Pie. 

Mr. Walter Crane's 

Baby's Opera. Baby's Bouquet. 

and various toy books, and the incomparable toy books of 

Randolph Caldecott. 

Four favourite books of comic verse are Edward Lear's 

Book of Nonsense. More Nonsense. 

Nonsense, Songs and Stories. 

and Dr. Hoffmann's Struwwelpeter, or Shock-headed Peter, as 
it is called in English. 

Two series of old-fashioned volumes containing very simple 
tales in verse are — 

Mrs. Turner's Cautionary Stories. 

Ann and Jane Taylor's Original Poetry. 

Four books, more recent, which Come nearer to poetry than any-- 
thing already mentioned, are — 

Verses for Children . . . . -By Mrs, Ewing. 

Sing Song .....,, Christina G. Rossetti. 

Lilliput Lyrics .....,, W. B. Rands. 

A Child's Garden of Verses . ,, R. L. Stevenson. 



What Shall We Do Now? 335 

A large collection of verse of the kind already described, with the 
addition of ballads, open-air rhymes, animal verses and other 
matter — intended to pave the way to real poetry — exists in 
A Book of Verses for Children, 

compiled by one of the authors of the present volume. After 
these, we come to collections containing real poetry, two excellent 
ones being 

The Blue Poetry Book . . By Andrew Lang. 

A First [Second and Third] Poetry Book ,, M. A. Woods. 

There is also 

Lyra Heroica . . . By W. E. Henley, 

a collection for boys. Selections from Tennyson, Browning, and 
other poets, intended for children, have been made, but most 
young explorers of poetry like to have the complete works and 
hunt for themselves. Other popular books of poetry are — 

The Ballad Book . . , . . . By W. Allingham. 

Lays of Ancient Rome . . . ,, Lord Macaulay. 

Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers . . ,, W. E. Aytoun. 

The Percy Reliques. A Thousand and One Gems of Poetry. 

Scott. Longfellow. Hood. 

Many boys also like the humorous stories in Barham's Ingoldsby 
Legends, and there is plenty of good narrative verse in the A i 
Reciter and its companions. 

Books about Children 

To this section, which is suited more particularly for girls, 
belong a large number of stories of a very popular kind : stories 
describing the ordinary life of children of to-day, with such 
adventures as any of us can have near home. Years ago the 
favourites were — 

The Fairchild Family . . . . -By Mrs. Sherwood. 

The Story of the Robins ... ,, Mrs. Trimmer. 

Sandford and Merton ...... Thomas Day. 



336 What Shall We Do Now? 

But these are not read as they used to be, partly because taste 
has changed, and partly because so many other books can now 
be procured. But fifty and more years ago they were in every 
nursery library. 

The Swiss Family Robinson, 

the most famous family book of all, will be found in the adventure 
section, to which perhaps really belong 

Feats on the Fiord, The Settlers at Home, 

by Harriet Martineau, although these two, and 

The Crofton Boys 
may be included here. Here also belong Maria Edgeworth's 
Moral Tales for Young People, The Parent's Assistant, 

which, although their flavour is old-fashioned, are yet as interest- 
ing as ever they were. Another old-fashioned work which 
children still like is The Looking-G lass for the Mind. 

Another writer whose popularity is no longer what it was is 
Jacob Abbott, the author of a number of fascinating stories of 
home life (on farms and in the country) in America in the middle 
of last century. In England the Franconia books and the Rollo 
books, which comprise Mr. Abbott's best work, have never been 
so well known as they ought to be. The Franconia stories are 
these : — 

Beechnut. Mary Erskine. 

Wallace. Mary Bell. 

Madeline. Stuyvesant. 

Caroline. Agnes. 

And this is the Rollo series, intended by their author for rather 

younger readers : — 

The little Scholar learning to Talk. Rollo at Work. 

Rollo learning to Read. Rollo at School. 

Rollo at Play. Rollo's Vacation. 

A list of other books, which come more or less rightly under 
the head of " Stories about Children " follows, the earlier ones 



What Shall We Do Now? 



337 



being better suited to younger readers, and the later ones to older, 
the age aimed at in this chapter (and indeed in the whole book), 
raneinef from five to fifteen. 



By Brenda (Mrs. Castle Smith) : — 

Froggy's Little Brother. 
Little Cousins. 

By Mrs. Molesworth : — 

The Adventures of Herr Baby. 

Carrots. 

Christmas Tree Land. 

Four Winds Farm. 

Grandmother Dear. 

Mary. 

The Cuckoo Clock. 



Victoria-Bess. 

The Earl's Granddaughter. 



The Boys and I. 

The Girls and I. 

The Rectory Children. 

The Red Grange. 

The Tapestry Room. 

The Palace in the Garden. 

The Children of the Castle. 



Some of Mrs. Molesvvorth's books are a blend of family story 
and fairy story, but all are put in this section. By Mrs. Ewing : — 

Mrs. Overtheway's Remembrances. 
A Great Emergency. 
Jackanapes. 
Mary's Meadow. 



A Flat Iron for a Farthing. 
Six to Sixteen. 
Jan of the Windmill. 
Dandelion Clocks. 

By E. and M. Kirby :— 

Aunt Martha's Corner Cupboard. 

By Kate Douglas Wiggin : — 
Polly Oliver's Problem. 

By Louisa M. Alcott : — 

Little Women. 
Good Wives. 
Eight Cousins. 
Rose in Bloom. 



Spinning- Wheel Stories. 



The Discontented Children and 
How they were Cured. 

Timothy's Quest. 



Little Men. 

Jo's Boys. 

An Old-Fashioned Girl. 

Aunt Jo's Scrap Bag. 



The Katy Series :- 
What Katy did. 



What Katy did at School. 



338 



What Shall We Do Now? 



The Gipsy Series : — 

Gipsy Breynton. 
Gipsy's Cousin Joy. 

By M. E. Winchester : 

A City Violet. 

A Nest of Skylarks. 



Gipsy's Year at the Golden Crescent. 
Gipsy's Sowing and Reaping. 



City Snowdrops. 
A Crippled Robin. 



The Cabin on the Beach. 

By Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett : — 

Little Lord Fauntleroy. The Captain's Youngest. 

Editha's Burglar. 

By Mrs. Whitney : — ; 

We Girls. The Gayworthys. 

Faith Gartney's Girlhood. Leslie Goldthwaite. 

This section is necessarily more incomplete than any of the 
others, since it is impossible to keep pace with the great number 
of stones of this kind which are published every Christmas. But 
a few more may be added : — 



Stories told to a Child 

The Lost Child 

Helen's Babies 

The Little Browns . 

The Treasure-Seekers 

Holiday House 

Paleface and Redskin 

The Silver Skates . 

Molly and Oily 

Sweetheart Travellers 

Sir Toady Lion 

The White Gipsy . 

The Old House in the Square 

Castle Blair . 

No Relations . 

Little Barefoot 



By Jean Ingelow. 

,, Henry Kingsley. 

„ John Habberton. 

,, Mabel E. Wotton. 

„ E. Nesbit. 

„ Catherine Sinclair. 

,, F. Anstey. 

,, M. M. Dodge. 

,, Mrs. Humphry Ward. 

„ S. R. Crockett. 

" )j )? 

,, Annette Lister. 

,, Alice Weber. 

,, Flora Shaw. 

,, Hector Malot. 

From the German of Auerbach. 



Here also belong many of the stories of Miss Yonge, and we 
might perhaps place Uncle Tom's Cabin here too. 



What Shall We Do Now? 



339 



Boy and Schoolboy Stories 

In this section are placed stories of modern boys, either at 
home or at school, and their ordinary home or school adventures. 
Among the best are — 



and 



Others are- 



Tom Sawyer 



Bevis 



By Mark Twain. 
By Richard Jefferies. 



The Story of a Bad Boy 

My Boyhood 

The Swan and Her Crew . 

Captain Chap 

The Tinkham Brothers' Tidemill 

Walks, Travels, and Exploits of Two Schoolboys 



By T. B. Aldrich. 
,, H. C. Barkley. 
,, G. C. Davies. 
,, Frank R. Stockton. 
,, J. T. Trowbridge. 
,. Canon Atkinson. 



The best school story will probably always be 

Tom Brown's School Days . By T. Hughes. 

Of recent years excellent school stories were written by the late 
Mr. Talbot Baines Reed, author of 

The Fifth Form at St. Dominic's. 

The Adventures of a Three-Guinea Watch. 

The Willoughby Captains. 

The Cock-House at Fellsgarth. 

Other writers of school stories include the late Rev. H. C. Adams, 
author of 



Barford Bridge ; or Schoolboy 

Trials. 
The Boys of Westonbury. 
The Chief of the School. 
The Lost Rifle. 



The Cherry Stones. 

The First of June. 

Charlie Luckless at School and 

College. 
Wroxley College. 



Mr. 



A. H. Gilkes, author of 

Boys and Masters. 

Mrs. Eiloart, author of 

Ernie Elton. The Boys of Beechwood. 

Chris. Fairlie's Boyhood. 



340 



What Shall We Do Now? 



The Channings, 



My Schoolfellows. 
Schoolboy Stories. 
Stories of School Life. 



Mrs. Henry Wood, author of 

The Orville College Boys. 

and Mr. Ascott R. Hope, author, of 

Arthur Fortescue. 

Ardendale. 

My Schoolboy Friends. 

A good story of a small boys' school is 

Cooper's First Term . . By Thomas Cobb. 

Among the books of this kind meant rather for grown-up 
readers, but read also by boys, are — 

Huckleberry Finn .... By Mark Twain. 

,, F. E. S medley. 



Frank Fairlegh 
The Interpreter 
The Human Boy 
Vice Versa 



Whyte Melville. 
Eden Phillpotts. 
F. Anstev. 



Adventure Stories 

This is the largest group of books usually described as " for 
boys," although girls often read them too with hardly less 
interest. The first place in this class will probably always be 
held by Defoe's 

Robinson Crusoe, 

and it is likely that most votes for second place would go to 
The Swiss Family Robinson. 

After these we come to modern authors whose books have been 
written especially for boys, first among whom is the late Mr. 
R. M. Ballantyne, the author of, among numerous other books, 

The Coral Island. The Iron Horse. 

The Gorilla Hunters. Fighting the Flames. 

The Dog Crusoe. Erling the Bold. 

The Pirate City. Martin Rattler. 

Ungava. The Fur Traders. 

The Wild Man of the West. The Red Man's Revenge. 



What Shall We Do Now? 



34i 



Many of Ballantyne's readers make a point of going through 
the whole series of his books. The other titles can be collected 
from the advertisement pages at the end of these volumes. With 
R. M. Ballantyne is usually associated the name of the late 
W. H. G. Kingston (" Kingston and Ballantyne the brave," 
Stevenson called them in the verses at the beginning of Treasure 
Island, another book which comes high in this section). Kingston's 
stories were also very numerous, but it will serve our purpose 
here to mention only the following six : — 

Peter the Whaler. The Three Commanders. 

The Three Midshipmen. The Three Admirals. 

The Three Lieutenants. From Powder-Monkey to Admiral. 

Several authors who are still living and still busy have carried 
on Ballantyne and Kingston's work. Chief among these are 
Mr. G. A. Henty and Mr. G. Manville Fenn. Here are six of 
Mr. G. A. Henty's stories : — 

Out on the Pampas. In the Heart of the Rockies. 

The Young Colonists. Maori and Settler. 

The Young Franc-Tireurs. Redskin and Cowboy. 

And here are eight of Mr. G. Manville Fenn's : — 

Brownsmith's Boy. The Golden Magnet. 

Bunyip Land. Fix Bay'nets. 

Devon Boys. Jungle and Stream. 

Dick o' the Fens. Menhardoc. 

Other writers for boys include Mr. Henry Frith, author of 



For Queen and King. 
Escaped from Siberia. 
Jack O'Lanthorn. 

Mr. Harry Collingwood, author of 
The Congo Rovers. 
The Cruise of the "Esmeralda." 

Mr. Max Pemberton, author of 

The Iron Pirate. 
" O." (Mr. Ouiller Couch), author of 

Dead Man's Rock. 



The Cruise of the " Wasp.' 5 
The Log of the " Bombastes. 
The Lost Trader. 



A Pirate of the Carribees. 
An Ocean Chase. 



The Impregnable City. 



The Silver Spur. 



342 What Shall We Do Now? 

Mr. William Westall, author of 

Nigel Fortescue. The Phantom City. 

Mr. Fred Whishaw, author of 

Boris, the Bear Hunter. A Lost Army. 

Harold, the Norseman. Lost in African Jungle. 

and Mr. David Ker, author of 

The Boy Slave in Bokhara. Cossack and Czar. 

Lost Among the White Africans. Old Tartar Deserts. 

The Wild Horseman of the Pampas. Prisoner among Pirates. 

Mr. Ker's best story, The Christian Knight and the Danish 
Sea King, is hidden away in the old periodical called Good 
Things, from which apparently it has never been reprinted. 

Jules Verne is a French writer, but his stories have always 
quickly been translated into English, many of them by Mr. 
Henry Frith. Their titles are a good guide to their subject, for 
Jules Verne goes to science for some wonderful invention, such 
as a submarine boat or a flying machine, and then surrounds it 
with extraordinary adventures. Among his best books are — 

Twenty Thousand Leagues under The Clipper of the Clouds. 

the Sea. From the Earth to the Moon. 

Round the World in Eighty Days. The Mysterious Island. 

Five Weeks in a Balloons A Journey to the Centre of the 
The English at the North Pole. Earth. 

First of English inventors of fantastic stories of adventure is 
Mr. Rider Haggard. His three most popular books are — 

King Solomon's Mines. She. Allan Quatermain. 

The books already named, with the exception of Robinson 
Crusoe, were written especially for boys. Other books which 
were not so intended, but have come to be read more by boys 
than any one else, include Fenimore Cooper's Indian stories, of 
which these are four : — 

The Last of the Mohicans. The Deerslayer. 

The Pathfinder. The Bee Hunters. 



What Shall We Do Now? 



343 



Other Indian stories are those of Gustave Aimard, translated from 
the French, among which are these : — 

The Last of the Incas. The Gold-Seekers. 

The Trail Hunter. The Red River Half-Speed. 

The Indian Scout. The Border Rifles. 

The Trappers of Arkansas. 

These are, of course, North American tales. Other North American 
tales are those of Captain Mayne Reid, which include — 



The Boy Hunters. 

The Boy Slaves. 

Bruin, or The Grand Bear Hunter. 

The Bush Boys. 

The Castaways. 

The White Chief. 



The Desert Home. 
The Forest Exiles. 
The Giraffe Hunters. 
The Headless Horseman. 
The Rifle Rangers. 
The Scalp Hunters. 



To this section belong also stories of the sea, several of which 
have already been mentioned. High among these are Captain 
Marryat's 

Poor Jack, Masterman Ready, 

together with many of his tales intended originally for older 
readers, such as 

Jacob Faithful. 

Mr. Midshipman Easy. 

Mr. Clark Russell's stories : — 

The Wreck of the " Grosvenor." 
The Golden Hope. 

Here also belong Mr. Kipling's 

Captains Courageous, 

and an old sea favourite — 
Two Years Before the Mast 

Other good sea books, not fiction 



Peter Simple. 
Snarleyyow. 



An Ocean Free-Lance. 
The Frozen Pirate. 



By R. H. Dana. 



My First Voyage 
The Voyage of the " Sunbeam ". 
The Cruise of the "Cachalot" . 
The Cruise of the " Falcon " 



By W. Stones. 
,, Lady Brassey. 
„ F. T. Bulien. 
„ E. F. Knight. 



344 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Historical Stories for Boys 

New historical stories are published in great numbers every year. 
The most popular living author of this kind of book for boys 
is Mr. G. A. Henty, among whose very numerous historical 
tales, all good, are — 



At Aboukir and Acre. 
At Agincourt. 
Bonnie Prince Charlie. 
By Right of Conquest. 
The Dash for Khartoum. 
In the Reign of Terror. 
With Moore at Corunna. 



The Lion of St. Mark. 
Maori and Settler. 
St. Bartholomew's Eve. 
Under Drake's Flag. 
With Clive in India. 
With Frederick the Great. 
With Lee in Virginia. 



Two 
Rev. 



other writers of historical tales for young readers are the 

A. D. Crake, author of 

Edwy the Fair, "Alfgar the Dane, 

and many other books of the same character, and the Rev. A. J. 
Church, author of 



The Chantry Priest of Barnet. 
The Count of the Saxon Shore. 



Stories from English History. 
With the King at Oxford. 

Other good historical tales also for boys : — 

Stories from Froissart 

The Scottish Chiefs .■ 

The Children of the New Forest 

A Monk of Fife 

Grettir the Outlaw . 

The Story of Burnt Njal . 

Lorna Doone .... 

By R. L. Stevenson — 

The Black Arrow. Kidnapped. 

By Charles Kingsley — 

Hereward the Wake. Westward Ho ! 

By Conan Doyle — 

Micah Clarke. 



By Henry Newbolt. 

,, Jane Porter. 

,, Captain Marryat. 

,, Andrew Lang. 

,, Baring Gould. 

,, Sir George Dasent. 

,, R. D. Blackmore. 



David Balfour. 



The Refugees. 



The White Company. 



What Shall We Do Now? 



345 



By Stanley J. Weyman — 
The Hpuse of the Wolf. 
Under the Red Robe. 



The Man in Black. 

A Gentleman of France. 



By Mr. Andrew Balfour — 

By Stroke of Sword. To Arms ! 

By Mark Twain — 

The Prince and the Pauper. Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc. 

There are also historical stories more particularly intended 
by their authors for grown-up readers, but which boys and girls 
can, however, find quite interesting enough, even if much has to 
be skipped. First among these are Sir Walter Scott's novels : — 



Ivanhoe. 
Kenilworth. 
Woodstock. 
Ouentin Durward. 

Other writers and books follow. 

The Three Musketeers. 

Twenty Years After. 

The Vicomte de Brageleonne. 

By Charles Dickens — 
Barnaby Rudge. 

Harrison Ains worth — 



By W. 



Ovingdean Grange. 

Windsor Castle. 

The Tower of London. 



By Lord Lytton — 
Rienzi. 
Harold. 



Rob Roy. 
The Abbot. 
The Monastery. 
The Talisman. 

By Alexandre Dumas — 

Marguerite de Valois. 

Chicot the Jester. 

The Forty-five Guardsmen. 

A Tale of Two Cities. 



Old St. Paul's. 

Rookwood. 

The Star Chamber. 



The Last of the Barons. 
The Last Days of Pompeii. 



Historical Stories for Girls 

Historical stories, which have a slightly gentler and simpler 
character, and are intended more for girls, include Mrs. Emma 
Marshall's 



346 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Under the Mendips. 
Under Salisbury Spire. 

Rosamund Fane. 



Bristol Diamonds. 
Penshurst Castle. 

M. and C. Lee's 

The Old Oak Staircase. 

Miss Esme Stuart's 

In the Days of Luther. The Prisoner's Daughter. 

A Nest of Royalists. 

Miss Yonge's 

The Little Duke. The Dove in the Eagle's Nest. 

The Prince and the Page. The Chaplet of Pearls. 

With these may be grouped — - 
The Days of Bruce 
In the Golden Days 
The Carved Cartoon 
The Exiles of St. Germain's 
Lady Shakerley . 
Mistress Beatrice Cope 
Golden Horseshoes 
Her Majesty's Bear 
The Beautiful Face 



By Grace Aguilar. 
Edna Lyall. 
Austin Clare. 
Anon. 

M. E. Le Clerc. 
E. H. Mitchell. 



Animal Books 

First among the animal books are Mr. Kipling's two Jungle 
Books. Two other beast stories by Mr. Kipling are " Moti Guj, 
Mutineer," the tale of a truant elephant, which is in Life's 
Handicap, and " The Maltese Cat," a splendid tale of a polo 
pony, which is in The Day's Work. Next to these comes Mr. 
E. S. Thompson's Wild Animals I have known. The lives of 
animals by themselves, or by some one who knows everything 
about them, are always favourite books with small readers. 
Among the best are these : — 

Black Beauty (the story of a horse) By Mrs. Sewell. 

Conrad the Squirrel . ,, the author of Wandering Willie. 

The Story of a Red Deer . . ,, J. W. Fortescue. 

Every Inch a King (the story of a dog) ,, Anon. 



What Shall We Do Now? 347 

The Adventures of a Siberian Cub. „ Leon Golschmann. 
The Autobiography of a Grizzly . ,, E. S. Thompson. 

The best tale of a bear is perhaps Bret Harte's " Baby 
Sylvester," which will be found in one of his volumes of short 
stories. Good animal stories are scattered about other collec- 
tions of short stories. In Mr. Anstey's Paleface and Redskin 
are stories of dogs. More about dogs will be found in 

Dog Stories from the Spectator, 

edited by Mr. St. Loe Strachey, and about cats in 

Cat Stories from the Spectator, 

a companion book. Mr. Lang's 

Red Book of Animal Stories 

has both dogs and cats in it, and many other creatures too. Here 
also should be placed Mr. Warde Fowler's 

Tales of the Birds. 

Other very popular animal books are Mr. Joel Chandler Harris's 

Nights with Uncle Remus, Mr. Rabbit at Home, 

and the same author has written also 

The Story of Aaron, Aaron in the Wild Woods, 

which are stories not only of animals, but of people too ; and 
here, perhaps, may be placed Alsofts Fables. 

Wood Magic . . .By Richard Jefferies 

is an attempt to do for English wild life somewhat the same 
service that Mr. Kipling performed for India. With Wood Magic 
may be grouped Jefferies' 

The Amateur Poacher. The Gamekeeper at Home, 

but these are serious and more advanced, suitable particularly for 
older boys with a taste for sport. 

Other open air and animal books are : — 



348 



What Shall We Do Now? 



By Mrs. Brightwen — 

Inmates of my House and Garden. Wild Nature won by Kindness. 

More about Wild Nature. 



By the Rev. J. G. Wood- 

My Back-yard Zoo. 
Pet Land revisited. 

By Mr. Phil Robinson — 



Pet Land. 

A Tour Round My Garden. 



Noah's Ark ; or, Mornings at the Zoo. In my Indian Garden. 

In Garden, Orchard, and Spinney. 



By Mr. R. Kearton — 

Wild Life at Home. 
Also 



With Nature and a Camera. 



Curiosities of Natural History 
White's Selborne . 
Wanderings in South America 
The Life of Thomas Edwards 
Wild Traits in Domestic Animals 
The Voyage of the " Beagle " 
Tribes of my Frontier . 
Behind the Bungalow . 
Ants, Bees, and Wasps . 
On the Senses, Instincts, and Intelligence 
of Animals . . « . . 



By Frank Buckland. 
Edited by Frank Buckland. 
By Charles Waterton. 

,, Samuel Smiles. 

,, Louis Robinson. 

,, Charles Darwin. 

„ "Eha." 

,, Sir John Lubbock 
(Lord Avebury). 



A series of very interesting scientific books, under the general 
title " The Romance of Science," is published by the Society for 
Promoting Christian Knowledge. Among these volumes are — 



The Making of Flowers 
The Birth and Growth of Worlds 
Spinning Tops .... 
Time and Tide 



By Professor Henslow. 
,, Professor Green. 
,, Professor Perry. 
,, Sir Robert Ball. 



The same publishers also issue a series of " Natural History 
Rambles," including — 



In Search of Minerals 
Lane and Field 



By D. T. Ansted. 
„ the Rev. J. G. Wood. 



What Shall We Do Now? 



349 



Ponds and Ditches 
Underground . 
The Woodlands 
The Sea-shore 



By M. C. Cooke. 
., J. E. Taylor. 
„ M. C. Cooke. 
,, Professor Duncan. 



Other good scientific yet very entertaining books : — 



The Fairyland of Science . 

Through Magic Glasses 

Life and Her Children 

The Romance of the Insect World 

The Ocean .... 

Glaucus ..... 

Madam How and Lady Why 

The Old Red Sandstone . 

The Testimony of the Rocks 

Homes without Hands 

Sun, Moon, and Stars 

The Story of the Heavens 

Other Worlds than Ours . 

The Orbs around Us 

The Boys' Book of Inventions . 



" The Library of Useful Stories " series 
both good and cheap. 



By A. B. Buckley. 

)) J) 

)) )) 

Miss L. Badenoch. 

Charles Kingsley. 

Hugh Miller. 

Rev. J. G. Wood. 
A. Giberne. 
Sir Robert Ball. 
R. A. Proctor. 

R. S. Baker. 

of Messrs. Newnes is 



History 

A good deal of more or less truthful history will be found in 
the section given to historical tales (see page 344). Here follows 
a small list of more serious historical books which also are good 
reading : — 



Tales of a Grandfather . . . . 

Stories from English History 

Lives of the Queens of England 

Cameos from English History (several series) 

Stories from Roman History 

Deeds that Won the Empire 

Fights for the Flag ..... 



By Sir Walter Scott. 
„ Rev. A. J. Church. 
„ Agnes Strickland. 
,, C. M. Yonge. 
,, Mrs. Beesley. 
„ W. H. Fitchett. 



35o 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Practical Books 

On most of the subjects treated in 
this volume there are books which go 
much further. In some cases these have 
been already mentioned ; but there are 
still many others. The completest list 
of practical guides to pastimes and em- 
ployments is that of the publications of 
Mr. Upcott Gill, the publisher of The 
Exchange and Mart. Excellent hand- 
books on collecting, on pets, on games, 
on gardening, and on sport can be bought 
from Mr. Gill, usually at a shilling each. 
Messrs. Sonnenschein also issue a Young 
Collector's series, the books in which 
go far enough for any ordinary boy's 



Books of Travel 

In this section two old favourites, written especially for 
children, must be named first — 

Near Home. Far Off. 

It is not important, however, that travel 
books should be written especially for 
young readers. Almost all records of 
travel contain some pages of interest, 
whatever the remainder may be like ; 
hence there is perhaps no need to attempt 
a list here. The fact that a book de- 
scribes wanderings in a far country is 
enough. 



BOOK MARK 

Once upon a time a Library 
Book was overheard talking 
to a little boy who had just 
borrowed it. The words 
seemed worth recording, and 
here they are : — 

" Please don't handle me 
with dirty hands. I should 
feel ashamed to be seen when 
the next little boy borrowed 
me. 

Or leave me out in the rain. 
Books can catch cold as well 
as children. 

Or make marks on me with 
your pen or pencil. It would 
spoil my looks. 

Or lean on me with your 
elbows when you are reading 
me. It hurts. 

Or open me and lay me face 
down on the table. You 
wouldn't like to be treated so. 

Or put in between my leaves 
a pencil or anything thicker 
than a single sheet of thin 
paper. It would strain my 
back. 

Whenever you have finished 
reading me, if you are afraid 
of losing your place, don't 
turn down the corner of one 
of my leaves, but have a neat 
little Book Mark to put in 
where you stopped, and then 
close me and lay me down on 
my side, so that I can have a 
good, comfortable rest. 

Remember that I want to 
visit a great many other little 
boys after you have done 
with me. Besides, I may 
meet you again some day, and 
you would be sorry to see me 
looking old and torn and 
soiled. Help me to keep 
fresh and clean, and I will 
help you to be happy." 



What Shall We Do Now? 



35i 



purposes. For those who prefer to have the whole matter 

between two covers, there is — 

The Out-door World ; or, Young Collector's Handbook. By W. Furneaux. 



Other practical books : — 

The Girl's Home Companion . 

The American Girl's 

The Boy's Modern Playmate . 

Every Boy's Book of Sport and Pastime 

Indoor Games and Recreations 

Country Pastimes for Boys 

The Book of the Dog 

Flowers of the Field 

Wild Flowers .... 

A Sketch Book of British Birds 

Our Museum, and How We made it 

The Home Naturalist 

British Butterflies . 



Edited by Mrs. Valentine. 

>> )> 

the Rev. J. G. Wood. 

,, Professor Hoffmann. 

,, G. A. Hutchinson. 
By P. Anderson Graham. 
,, Gordon Stables. 
„ Rev. C. A. Johns. 
„ Anne Pratt. 
,, R. Bowdler Sharpe. 
,, Rev. F. Housman. 
,, Harland Coultas. 
,, W. S. Coleman. 



Beetles, Butterflies, Moths, and other Insects ,, Messrs. Kirby and Keppel. 



Miscellaneous Books 

There remain a great many books which belong to no 
particular group, such as bound volumes of 

St. Nicholas. Little Folks. 

The Boy's Own Paper. Chatterbox. 

and other periodicals now being published, together with such as 
have ceased to be, such as 

Aunt Judy. The Magnet Stories. 

Good Things. Harper's Young People. 

Also the many collections of stories, of which, perhaps, Mr. 
A. H. Miles' extensive " Fifty-two " series is the best, and for 
small readers Mr. Stead's " Books for the Bairns," which may be 
had in a box, should be a sufficient library. 
Here also may be placed 

Don Quixote. Evenings at Home. 

Dickens' Christmas Books. Plutarch's Lives, 



352 



What Shall We Do Now? 



but to make a list is quite needless. As was said at the 
beginning of this chapter, those who want to read will always 
find the books they best like. 



The treat- On page 3 5 o is given a copy of the book mark which 

ment of an American clergyman, Mr. Henry Maxson, prepared for the 

libvctvy 

books use °f the- readers in the children's section of a library in 

Wisconsin. 



INDEX 



Aberdeen terriers, 299 
Acrobatic impossibilities, 31 
Acrobatics, drawing-room, 30-35 
Acrostics, 51 
Acting initials, 84 

proverbs, 84 

verbs (Dumb Crambo), 84 
Adders, 171 
Adhesive tape, 199 
Adventure, stories of, 340 
Advertisements, 18 
Airballs, game with, 33 
Airedale terriers, 298 
Almond toffee, 256 
Almonds, how to blanch, 256 
"Alphabet, the cat," 125 
"Alphabet, the love," 75, 125 
"Alphabet, the ship," 75 
Alyssum, 274 

maritimum, 268 
Anemone, 277, 278 

Japanese, 274 
Angora rabbits, 303 
"Animal, vegetable and mineral," 83 
Animals, books about, 346 

China, 148 

composite (drawing game), 43 

invented (drawing game), 43 

velvet, 237 
Annuals, list of, 268-269 

treatment of, 266-273 
Ants, 172 
Apple-snapping, 5 
"Apprentice, the," 127 
Aquariums, 306 
Arm-chair (model), 206 



Aspidistra, 287 

Aubretia, 274 

Autumn sowing of seedlings, 268 

Avadavats, 313 



" Bag and stick," 6 
Ball games, 107 

wool, 229 
Ballad game, the, 10 1 
Barley Sugar, 254 
Basset, the, 302 
" Bat and trap," 108 
Baths for birds, 310 
Battersea Dogs' Home, 298 
" Battledore and shuttlecock," 97 
Bead furniture for dolls' houses, 181 
Bead-work, 230 
Beagle, the, 302 
" Bed boat, the," 145 

games, 143-149 

soldiers, 147 

thinking games for, 145 
Bedding plants, 276 
Bedlington terrier, the, 299 
Beds for dolls' houses, 180 

matchbox, 188 
Bedstead, wooden (model), 207 
Bees, 161 
Belgian hares, 304 
Biennials, list of, 269 

treatment of, 272 



2 A 



354 



What Shall We Do Now? 



" Bingo," 23 

Birds, large and cage, 3 1 0-32 1 

in the garden, 318-321 
Birds'-nesting, 164 
" Birthday, the old maid's," 70 
Blackberrying, 168 
Blackbird, the, 315 
Blacksmith, the, 163 
Blenheim spaniels, 302 
Blight on roses, 281 
" Blind feeding the blind, the," 5 
Blind games, 3-5 
" Blind man's buff," 3 

played with spoons, 3 
" Blind man's wand," 4 
Blind worms, 171 
Bloodhound, the, 302 
Blowing eggs, 166 
Blowing out the candle, 5 
Boat, a simple toy, 242 
Boats, paper, 232 

on a stream, 170 

sailing, 169 

walnut shell, 245 
Book mark, 350 

teas, 89 
Books — 

and bookshelves for a dolls' house, 182 

about animals, 346 

about boys, 339 

of adventure, 340 

about children, 335 > 

of fairy tales, 332 

historical, 344-346, 349 

miscellaneous, 351 

of poetry, 334 

practical, 350 

about the sea, 343 

for Sunday, 326-328 

of travel, 350 
Borage, 276 

Borders for a garden, 264 
Borzoi, the, 302 
Boxes, cardboard, 235 

for collections of eggs, 166 

for dolls' houses, 177 

paper, 234 
Boy and schoolboy stories, 339 
Boys' toys, 240-248 



Bran-tubs, 250 

Bream, 306 

Bricks, 143 

Bubbles, soap, 228 

Budgerigars, 313 

"Buff," 22 

" Buff, blind man's," 3 

" Buff, shadow," 4 

"Buff, silent blind man's," 3 

Bulbs, treatment of, 277-280 

in cocoanut fibre, 288 

in glasses, 289 

in pots, 288 
Bull dog, the, 301 
Bullfinch, the, 314 
Bull terrier, the, 299 
Bunting, the yellow, 314 
"Buried names," 54 
Butterfly hunting, 166 
Butter-making, 161 
Buying dogs, 298 
"Buz/' 126 



Cage birds, 3 10-321 
Cages for birds, 310 
Calceolaria, 276 
Campanulas, 288 
Canaries, 311 
Canary creeper, 268 

seed, 288 
Candle-blowing, 5 
" Candle lighters, the," 32 
Candytuft, 268 
Cane- weaving, 231 
Canterbury bells, 269 
Caramels, 254 

cream, 255 
Cardboard and paper furniture 

drawings of, 198-212 

arm-chair, 206 

bedstead, 207 

chair, 211 

cot, 212 

dining-room table, 204 

dressing-table, 209 

high chair, 212 



Index 



355 



Cardboard and paper furniture — continued 

kitchen chair, 202 
range, 202 
table, 201 
pots and pans, 203 

rocking-chair, 211 

screen, 203 

sideboard, 205 

sofa, 206 

towel-horse, 211 

wardrobe, 208 

washstand, 210 
Cardboard and paper toys, 231-240 

boxes, 235 

dolls' houses, 193-198 

uses for, 240 
Card games, 65-72 
Cardinal, the, 313 
Cards for "patience," 66 

for " Snap," 68 
" Cards, hat and," 32 
Carnations, 274 
Catalogues, gardening, 262 
"Cat alphabet, the," 125 
Catch games, 19 
Catching balls, 107 
" Caterpillar " game, 10 
Caterpillars, 308 
Cat-fish, the American, 307 
Cats, 303 

Chaffinch, the, 313 
Chair (model), 211 
Chairs, chestnut, 186 

cork, 186 
Chalks, 222 
Charades, 92 

dumb, 93 
Cherry contests, 250 
"Chevy," 1 18 
Chickens, feeding the, 160 
Child's Cookery Book, The, 253 
Child's Garden of Verses, A, 144 
Children, books about, 335 
China animals, 148 

nest-eggs, 160 
"Chitterbob," 27 
Christmas, 248-250 

making plans for, 147 
trees, 248 



Chrysanthemums, 274 
Clay, modelling in, 223 
Clothes-basket, a dolls' house, 190 
Clothes-horse, summer house, 104 
Clumber spaniel, the, 299 
" Clumps," 80 
Coastguards, the use of, 156 
" Cobbler, the," 12 
Cocked hat, paper, 231 
Cocker spaniel, the, 299 
Cocoanut cream, 254 

drops, 255 

fibre for bulbs, 288 
" Coddam," 16 
" Coffee-pot," 82 
Collars for dogs, 296 
" Collecting Jones's," 125 
Collections of china animals, 148 

of flags, 221 

of flowers, 167 

of post-marks, 226 

of stamps, 225 
Collie, the, 300 
Collinsia, 268 
Colour in a garden, 262 
Colouring maps, 221 

pictures, 221 
Columbine, 274 
Compasses, home-made, 199 
Competitions, guessing, 89 
" Composite animals " (drawing game), 43 

scrap books, 225 

stories, 60 
" Concerted sneeze, the," 23 
Concerts, the topsy-turvy, 92 
"Consequences," 58 

an extended form of, 59 
Contests, cherry, 250 
Convalescents, games fcr, 147 
Convolvulus major, 268 
Cooking, 253-258 
Copying woodcuts, 222 
Coreopsis, 268 
Cork and matchbox furniture, 185-190 

ships, 154 
Cornflowers, 268 
Cot (model), 212 
Counting dogs, 124 

a million, 147 



35^ 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Counting imaginary flocks of sheep, 147 
Counting-out rhymes, 102 
Country, attractions of the, 159 
Covent Garden aquarium, 307 

seedlings at, 285 
Cows, 163 

Cradle, a walnut, 189 
Cream caramels, 255 

cocoanut, 254 

stuffing for dates, 258 
Creeping Jenny, 275 
Cress, mustard and, 284 
Cricket, stump and garden, 108 
Cricket, paper, 62 
Crocuses, 277 

"Crosses, noughts and," 135 
"Cross questions and crooked answers," 19 
" Cross-tag," 1 15 
Cumulative games, 25-27 
Curtains for cardboard dolls' houses, 194 

dolls' house, 179 
" Cushion," 12 
Cutting flowers, 290-291 
Cutting out pictures, 147 
Cuttings, 276 



Daffodils, 277, 289 
Dahlias, 280 
Dairy, the, 161 
Daisy chains, 103 

double, 275 
Dancing man, a, 236 
Dandie Dinmonts, 299 
Darts, paper, 233 
Dates, stuffed, 258 
" Day's shopping, the," 13 
Decorations, evergreen, 248 

paper, 249 
Deerhound, the Scotch, 302 
Deerstalking, 5 
Delphiniums, 275 
Demons, wool, 23c 
Diaries, country, 173 

gardening, 262 
Dining-room table (model), 204 



Dinner parties, dolls', 184 
Distemper, treatment of, 297 
Ditto game, the, 22 
Dogs, counting, 124 
exercising, 295 
food for, 295 
how to buy, 298 
how to teach tricks, 297 
the various kinds of, 298-303 
treatment of, 295-298 
washing, 296 
Dogs' collars, 296 

Home at Battersea, 298 
kennel (cardboard), 198 
Dolls for dolls' houses, 183 
dressing, 183 
paper, 213-217 
rows of paper, 216 
walking, 216 
Dolls' dinner parties, 184 
flats, 184 

garden seats and tables, 177 
houses, 177 

cardboard, I 93- I 98 
small, 185 
house beds, 180 
bookshelves, 182 
cupboards, 183 
curtains, 179 
fireplaces, 178 
floors, 179 
gardens, 177 
pictures, 181 
screens, 183 
wall papers, 178 
Donkey rides, 156 
" Donkey's tail, the," 4 
Doronicum, 275 
"Dots, five," 39 
Double acrostics, 52 

daisy, 275 
Doves, 309 
Dragons, hand, 236 
Drawing games, 39-48 
Drawing-room acrobatics, 30-35 
Drawings, eyes-shut, 39 
Drawing tricks, 42 
Dresses for paper dolls, 213 
Dressing dolls, 1 83 



Index 



357 



" Dressing the lady," 12 
Dressing-table (model), 209 
table, matchbox, 189 
up for charades, 93 
Ducks' eggs, 160 
" Dumb Crambo," 84 

charades, 93 
Dutch rabbits, 304 



Easter eggs, 223 
Eggs, blowing, 166 

ducks', 160 

Easter, 223 

hens', 159 
"Elements, the," 78 
Employments, guessing, 85 
Eschscholtzia, 268 
Evergreen decorations, 248-249 
Everton toffee, 257 
Exercising dogs, 295 
" Eyes," 85 
Eyes-shut drawings, 39 



Fairy-tale books, 332 
" Families," 67 
"Family coach," 28 

specimen story, 28 
" Family, the imaginary," 146 
Fantail pigeons, 309 
Farmyards, 159 
"Feather, the," 18 
Feeding chickens, 160 
Fern balls, 287 
Ferneries and rockeries, 2S2 
Ferns, 282, 287 

skeleton, 229 
Fights, walnut shell, 246 
" Fire-buckets," 34 
Fireplaces for dolls' houses, 178 
Fish, 306 



" Five dots," 39 
" Fives," 53 
Flags, 275 

collection of, 221 
Flagstaffs, 112 
Flocks of sheep, counting imaginary, 147 

see counting 
Florin exam., the, 91 
Flower shows, 104, 263 
Flowers, collecting, 167 

cutting, 290 

for a dolls' house, 183 

packing, 291 

painting, 167 

for town gardens, 285 

for window boxes, 290 
" Fly away," 20 
" Follow my leader," 120 
Food for birds, 31 1 

for chickens and ducks, 160 

for dogs, 295 

for puppies, 296 

for rabbits, 304 

on a railway journey, 139 

for wild birds, 314, 316, 321 
Football, parlour, 33 
Foot-stools, cork, 187 
Forfeits, 35 
Forget-me-not, 275 
" Fowls, trussed," 31 
Foxgloves, 269 
Fox-terrier, the, 299 
" French and English," 120 

ditto, (paper), 136 
French Blind Man's Buff, 4 
" Frog in the Well," 99 
Fruit cream, 255 
Fuchsias, 276 
Furnishing dolls' houses, 179 



Gaillardia, 275 

Games with a ball, 107 
in bed, 143-149 
with cards, 66-72 



358 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Games for convalescents, 1 47 -1 49 

for a journey, 133-139 

for a party, 3-36 

for a picnic, 115-120 

Sunday, 325 

table, 65 

thinking, guessing, and acting, 75-94 

for a walk, 123-129 

with a watch, 135 

writing, 51-62 
"Gaps," 116 
Garden, dolls' house, 177, 198 

games for boys, 106-112 

games for girls, 97-104 

kitchen, 283 

railways, 112 

shop, 104 

town, 284 

work, the year's, 265 
Gardening catalogues, 262 

diaries, 262 

tools, 263 
" General post," 15 
Geraniums, 276, 288 

scented, 276 
Gilia, 269 
Gladiolus, 277, 279 
Glasses, bulbs in, 289 
Godetia, 269, 270 
Goldfinch, the, 313 
Gold fish, 306 

" Good fat hen, a," 25 > 

Good luck lily, 289 
Gordon setter, 300 
"Grab," 68 

"Grand Mogul, the," 126 
"Grand Mufti, the," 21 
Grass snakes, 171 
Great Dane, the, 301 
Greenfinch, the, 315 
Greyhound, the, 302 
Guessing competitions, 89 

employments, 85 

games, 80-91 

numbers, 88 

quantities, 90 

scents, 90 

the colour of horses' tails, 124 
Guinea pigs, 305 



Gypsophila, 269 



Hand dragons, 236 

"Hanging," 138 

Hares, wild, 305 

Harrier, the, 301 

" Hat and cards," 32 

Hats, cocked, 231 

Hawks, 172 

"He," 115 

"Heads, bodies and tails," 44 

Hedgehogs, 171 

Heliotrope, 276 

" Hen and chickens," 98 

" Hen, a good fat," 25 

Hens' eggs, where to look for, 160 

Herbs, 276 

"Here I bake," 12 

" Hide and seek," 117 

Hieroglyphics, or picture-writing, 48 

High chair (model), 212 

Himalayan rabbits, 304 

" Hish ! hash ! hosh ! " 23 

"Hissing and clapping," 13 

Historical stories, 344, 346 

History books, 349 

Hives, bee, 162 

Hockey for gardens, 109 

"Hold fast ! Let go ! " 21 

Hollyhocks, 275 

Home newspaper, the, 231 

Honesty, 275 

" Honey-pots, 10 

Hoop games for two, 128 

posting, 129 
Hoops, 128 
Hopping, 169 

"Hop, step, and jump," 120 
Horses, 163 

Hospitals, scrap books for, 224 
" Hot and cold," 8 
Hotel game, a, 144 
Hounds, 301 



Index 



359 



Houses, cardboard, 194-198 

dolls', 177 
"How, when, and where," 82 
Hunting for eggs, 158 
" Hunt the ring," 16 
" Hunt the slipper," 6 
"Hunt the squirrel," I16 
"Hunt the thimble," 7 
Hutches, rabbit, 304 
Hyacinths, 277, 279, 289 



Illuminating, 222 
Illustrated papers, painting, 221 
" I love my love," 75, 125 
" Imaginary family, the,'' 146 
India-rubber plant, 287 
Indoor gardening, 286-290 

occupations and things to make, 
221-250 

plants, 287 
"Initials," 57, 145 

acting, 84 
" Invented animals " (drawing game), 43 
Irises, 277, 279 
Irish setter, 300 

terrier, 299 
"I spy," 117 
Ivy, 287 

chains, 103 



Jones's, collecting, 125 

Journeys, games to play on, 1 33- 1 39 

Judge and Jury, 19 



Killing butterflies, 166 
King Charles spaniel, 302 
Kingfishers, 170 
Kitchen gardens, 283 
table (model), 201 
chair ,, 202 
range ,, 202 
pots and pans, 203 
" Kitchen utensils," 16 
Kite messengers, 242 
Kites, 240 
Knots, the value of, 156 



" Lady Queen Anne," 17 

Lamp for small dolls' house, 1S7 

"Land of counterpane, the," 147 

"Land of story-books, the," 145 

Larks, 315 

Larkspur, 269 

" Laughter," 23 

Lavender, 276 

" Lists," 54 

London pride, 275 

" Looby, looby," 24 

" Love alphabet, the," 75, 125 

Love-birds, 313 

Love-in-a-mist, 269 

Low-tide, 153 

Lubbock, Sir John, on bees, 162 

Lupins, 269, 275 

Leaves, skeleton, 228 

Legendary tales, 333 

Lemon thyme, 276 

verbena, 276 
Letter games, 65 
"Letters and telegrams," 55 

and words, 137 

with a pencil, 137 
Lettuce, 283 
"Lights, rhyming," 127 
Lilies, 277, 279 

of the valley, 282 
Linnet, the, 315 



360 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Madonna lilies, 277, 279 
Maggots on roses, 281 
Magic-lantern slides, 222 
" Magic music," 8 
Magpies, 310 
" Making obeisance," 85 
" Making sentences," 125 
Man, a dancing, 236 
"Mandarins, the," 21 
Maps, colouring, 221 

on a journey, 133 
Marbles, 17, no 
Marigolds, 269, 270 
Mastiff, the, 301 
Mats, paper, 234 
Menageries, 148 
" Mesmerism," 86 
Messengers, kite, 242 
Mice, 170 

pet, 305 
Michaelmas daisies, 275 
Mignonette, 269, 270 
Milking cows, 163 
Million, counting a, 147 
Miniature trees, 287 
Minnows, 307 
Miscellaneous books, 351 
Modelling in clay, 223 
"Mogul, the Grand," 126 
Moles, 170 
Mongrels, 302 
Monthly roses, 282 
Moorhens, 170 
Mottoes for Christmas, 249 
Moulting, 312 

Mounting pressed flowers, 167 
" Muffin man, the," 27 
"Mufti, the Grand," 21 
" Mulberry bush, the," 24 
Mushrooms, 168 
" Musical chairs," 9 
Music, dolls', 183 



" Music, magic," 8 

Mustard and cress, 284, 288 

"My lady's clothes," 12 

" My right-hand neighbour," 81 



Narcissus, 279, 289 
Nasturtiums, 269 
Natural history books, 346 
"Neighbour, my right-hand," 81 
" Neighbours," 13 
Nemophila, 269 
Newfoundland dogs, 301 
Newspaper, the home, 231 
Niggers at the seaside, 156 
Ninepins, 18, 1.43 
Norfolk spaniel, 299 
"Noughts and crosses," 135 
Numbers, guessing, 88 
" Nuts in May," n 
Nutting, 168 
Nut toffee, 257 



"Observation," 90 

for railway journeys, 134 
Occupations, indoor, 221-250 
" Old bachelor," 69 
Old Bull, or Frog in the Well, 99 
" Old maid," 69 
" Old maid's birthday, the," 70 
" Old soldier," n 
•' Old stone," 98 
" Oranges and lemons," 14 
Oriental poppy, 275 
Otter hound, 302 
" Outlines," 39 



Index 



361 



" P's and Q's," 77 
Packing up flowers, 291 
Paddling, 153 
Pseonies, 275 
Painting, 221 

cardboard dolls' houses, 194 

cardboard furniture, 200 

dolls' house food, 184 

eggs for Easter, 223 

flags, 221 

flowers, 167 

magic-lantern slides, 222 

maps, 221 
Pansy, 275 
Paper boats, 232 

boxes, 234 

and cardboard toys, 231-240 

cricket, 62 

darts, 233 

decorations, 249 

dolls, 213-217 

"French and English," 136 

furniture, 198-212 

mats, 234 
Papers for dolls' houses, 178 
"Parish priest, the," 19 
Parlour football, 33 
Parrots, 309 
Party, games for a, 3-36 
"Patience" or "Thirteens," 66 
Pen and ink work, 222 
Peppermint toffee, 257 
Perch, 307 
Perennials, list of, 274 

treatment of, 273 
Pets, 295-321 
Philopenas, 250 
Photography, 174 
Picking flowers, 290 
Picnic games, 1 15-120 
" Pictures and titles," 44 
Pictures, colouring, 221 

for dolls' houses, 18 1 

pricking, 222 

tracing, 222 



Pictures to order, 44 

Picture-writing, or hieroglyphics, 48 

"Pig," 69 

Pigeons, 308 

" Piladex," 33 

Ping-pong, 65 

Pinks, 275 

Plain toffee, 256 

Plans, making, 147 

Planting bulbs, 277 

perennials, 273 

roses, 280 

seedlings, 267 
Plants, window, 286 

indoor, 287 
Poetry books, 334 
Pomeranian, the, 302 

the toy, 302 
Ponds, 169 
Poodles, 302 
Pop-corn, 256 
Pop-guns, 143 
Poppies, 269, 271 
Poppy, Oriental, 275 
Postage-stamp collections, 225 

snakes, 226 
Postmarks, 226 
" Post office, the," 231 
Potato races, 34 
Pots and pans (models), 203 
Practical books, 350 
Pressing flowers, 167 
Pricking Pictures, 222 
" Priest of the parish, the," 19 
Primroses, 275 
"Prisoner's base," 118 
"Products, towns and," 127 
" Proverbs," 83 

acting, 84 

shouting, 88 
Pugs, 302 

Puppies, how to feed, 296 
" Puss in the corner," 6 
Puzzles, 226 
Pyrethrum, 275 



362 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Quantities, guessing, 90 
" Queen Anne, Lady,'' 17 
Quotation games, 79 



Rabbits, wild, 173 

tame, 303 
Races, potato, 34 

tissue-paper, 33 
Radishes, 284 

Railway journey competitions, 133 
" Railway whist," 133 
Railways in the garden, 112 
Ranunculus, 279 
Reading, 331-352 
Retriever, the, 300 
" Rhymed replies," 58 
Rhymes, counting out, 102 
Rhyming games, 79 
" Rhyming lights," 127 
"Riddles," 58 

"Ring, hunt the," 16 l 

" Ringing " the bees, 161 
" Ring taw," no 
" Roadside whist," 123 
Robin, the, 317 
Rockeries, 282 
Rock flowers, 283 
Rocking-chair (model), 211 
Rookeries, 172 
Rooks, 172, 320 
Rosemary, 276 
Roses, treatment of, 280 

list of, 281 
" Rounders," 109 
Rows of paper dolls, 216 
" Run across," 120 
Runt pigeons, 309 
" Russian scandal," 18 



Sailing boats, 154, 169 
Saint Bernard, the, 301 
Sand castles, 155 
Saving seed, 272 
"Scandal, Russian," 18 
Scarborough lily, 289 
Scented geranium, 276 
Scents, guessing, 90 
Schipperkes, 302 
Schoolboy stories, 339 
Science, books about, 348 
Scrambling, 6 
Scrap-books, 147, 223 

covered screens, 225 
Scraps and transfers, 235 
Screen (model), 203 
Screens covered with scraps, 225 

for dolls' houses, 183 
Sea and her children, the, 9 
Seaside employments, 153-156 
Seaweed, 155 
Seccotine, 199 
Seedlings, perennials, 274 

general remarks on, 267 
Seed, sowing, 272 
"Sentences, making," 125 
"Sergeant, the," 21 
Setters, 300 

Setting-boards for butterflies, 167 
Shade-loving plants, 282 
Shades, 283 
" Shadow buff," 4 
Shadows on the wall, 227 
Shearing sheep, 163 
Sheep, 163 

counting imaginary flocks of, 147 

dog, the, 163, 300 

shearing, 163 

washing, 163 
Shell work, 156 
"Ship alphabet, the," 75 
Ships, cork, 154 
Shop, game of, 179 

in the garden, 104 



Index 



3^3 



" Shopping, the day's," 13 

Shop windows, 124 

" Shouting proverbs,'' 84 

Sideboard (model), 205 

" Silent blind man's buff," 3 

Silkworms, 307 

Simple acrostics, 51 

Siskin, the, 314 

Skeleton ferns, 229 

leaves, 228 
Skipjacks, 246 
Skipping, 97 
Skye terrier, the, 299 
Sleep, ways of getting to, 147 
Slugs, 273 

Small dolls' houses, 185 
Smudgeographs, 42 
Snakes, 171 

postage stamp, 226 
Snap cards, 68 

dragon, 275 
" Sneeze, the concerted," 23 
Snowdrops, 277 
Soap-bubbles, 228 
Sofa (model), 206 
Sofas, cork, 186 
Soldiers, 143, 147 
Solomon's seal, 282 
Sowing seeds, 266 
Spaniels, 299 
Sparrows, 320 
Spatter-work, 223 
" Spelling game," 126 
" Spillikins," 18 

Spoons, "Blind man's buff" played with, 3 
' Squails," 18 
Squills, 277 
Squirrels, wild, 173 

tame, 305 
Stamps, collecting, 225 
Star of Bethlehem, 277 
Starlings, 320 

Station "Observation," 134 
Statues, 23 
Steps, 4 

Stevenson, R. L., 144 
" Stir the mash," 10 
"Stool of repentance," 85 
"Stories, composite," 60 



"Stories, improbable," 61 

about schoolboys, 339 

telling, 80, 123 
Story for "Family coach," 28 

for " Old maid's birthday," 71 
Strawberries, 284 
Streams, 170 
Stuffed dates, 258 
Stump cricket, 108 
Sugar, Barley, how to make, 254 
Sugar, how to colour, 258 
" Suggestions," 78 
Summer-houses, 104 
Sunday books, 326 

games, 325 
Sunflowers, 269, 275 
Sussex spaniel, the, 299 
Swallows, 172 
Swarming of bees, 161 
Sweet-making, 253-258 
Sweet-peas, 269, 271 
Sweet Sultan, 269, 271 

William, 269 



Tableaux vivants, 93 
Table games, 16, 18 
Tables, cork, 186 
Teas, book, 89 
" Teapot," 82 
" Telegrams," 55 
Telling stories, 80 

during walks, 123 
Terriers, 298 
" Terza," 117 

"Thimble," or "Threepenny bit," 
Thinking games, 74 _ 79 

for bed, 145 
" Thirteens," or " Patience," 66 
"Thought, my," 76 
Thought-reading tricks, 86 
"Threepenny bit," or "Thimble," 
" Throwing light," 83 
Thrush, the, 315 



364 



What Shall We Do Now? 



Tides, 1 S3 

Tiger-lilies, 277 

Tissue-paper dresses for dolls, 216 

races, 33 
"Titles, pictures and," 44 
Tils, 316 
Toffee, almond, 256 

Everton, 257 

nut, 257 

peppermint, 257 

plain, 256 

treacle, 257 
" Tom Tiddler's ground," 97 
Tom-tits, 316 
Tools for gardening, 263 
Topsy-turvy concert, the, 92 
Tortoises, 306 
"Touch last," 115 
"Touchwood," 115 
Towel-horse, cork, 190 

(model), 211 
Town gardens, 284 
"Towns and products," 127 
Toy boats, 242 

dogs, 302 
Toys for boys, 240-248 
Tracing Pictures, 222 
Trades, 30 

Train, games to play in the, 1 33- 1 39 
Transfers, 235 
Travel, books of, 350 
"Traveller, the," 29 4 

Treacle toffee, 259 
Trees, miniature, 287 
"Trencher, turn the," 15 
Tricks, how to teach birds, 31 1 

how to teach dogs, 297 

drawing, 42 
Trout, 306 
"Trussed fowls," 31 
" Tug of war," 33 
Tulips, 277, 279 
"Turn the trencher," 15 
" Twenty questions," 145 
"Twos and threes," or " Terza," 117 



Urn, 6 

Unison games, 22 

" Up Jenkyns," or " Coddam, 

"Utensils, kitchen," 16 
kitchen (models), 203 
for sweet-making, 253 



16 



Ve vet animals, 237 

Verse and poetry books, 334 

Virginia stock, 269 



Walking dolls, 216 

games to play when out, 123-129 
Wallflowers, 275 
Wall-pockets, 264 
Walnut fights, 246 

shell boats, 245 
" Wand, blind man's," 4 
Wardrobe, matchbox, 190 

(model), 208 
Washing dogs, 296 

sheep, 163 
Washstand, 189 

(model), 210 
Watch, games to be played with a, 135 
Water-cutters, 247 
Watering flowers, 263 

perennials, 273 

roses, 281 

seedlings, 267 

window boxes, 290 

window plants, 286 



Index 



365 



Wax-bills, 313 

Waxworks, 94 

Weaving cane, 231 

Weeds, 268 

Welsh terrier, the, 299 

Wheat, 288 

"Whist, railway," 133 

"Whist, roadside," 123 

Whistle, the, 7 

Whistles, 248 

Wild birds, feeding the, 317 

flowers, 276 

hares, 305 

rabbits, 173, 303 
Window boxes, 289 

plants, 286 
Windows, shop, 124 
Winter aconite, 277, 280 



"Witches," 100 
Wool balls, 229 
demons, 230 
Word-making, 137 
Writing games, 51-62 



Year's work in the garden, 265 
Yellow bunting, 314 
" Yes and no " games, 80-82 
Yorkshire tyke, 298 






APPENDIX 

In making a book of this kind, it is impossible to think of all the 
things that ongJit to be mentioned. Every reader is certain to know 
of some game or pastime that has been left out. In order that you 
may yourself bring tins collection nearer completeness, the following 
Appendix of blank pages has been added. Some reference to 
everything that is written in the Appendix ought to be made, if only 
in pencil, in both the body of the book and in the Index. 



368 What Shall We Do Now? 



Appendix 369 



2 B 



370 What Shall We Do Now? 



Appendix 371 



372 What Shall We Do Now? 



Appendix 37 



o 



374 What Shall We Do Now? 



Appendix 375 



37 6 What Shall We Do Now? 



Appendix 377 



378 What Shall We Do Now? 



Appendix 



379 



380 What Shall We Do Now? 



Appendix - 381 



382 What Shall We Do Now? 



Appendix 383 



384 What Shall We Do Now? 



Appendix 385 



2- c 



386 What Shall We Do Now? 



Appendix 3 8 7 



388 What Shall We Do Now? 



Appendix 389 



390 What Shall We Do Now ? 



3477-3 



